Avenging Phantom
by Bonded Nerdlings
Summary: After the death of his family and friends, the young halfa finds himself in New York. He tries to stay on the down low, but it's kind of hard to do that when there are superheroes running around, getting closer and closer to the truth.
1. Prologue

**Author Note: For those of you who don't know, this account is shared by two people (Clockwork's Apprentice and Spawn of Nerdom). This story will use some of our OCs (Gear from Clockwork's Apprentice and Alex and Axel from Spawn of Nerdom).**

**~The Nerdlings**

**Title: **Avenging Phantom

**Summary: **After the death of his family and friends, the young halfa finds himself in New York. He tries to stay on the down low, but it's kind of hard to do that when there are superheroes running around, getting closer and closer to the truth.

**Genre:** Friendship/Hurt and Comfort/Adventure/Humor

**Rated: **T

**Disclaimer:** _We do now own nor claim Danny Phantom. We do not own nor claim Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. We do own our OCs- Gear, Alex, and Axel. _

**Prologue:**

Danny couldn't help but smile as he walked along side Sam, holding her hand. The two were finally together- which earned Tucker and Gear a lot of bet money, some from Danny's own parents. They were almost finished with high school, being juniors, which was a miracle with Danny's '_job.'_

"It's nice, isn't it," Sam said suddenly.

"What is?"

"There's hardly any more ghost attacks. We can actually focus on school and next year, we graduate."

"Yeah, who would have thought that we would make it this far," Danny laughed.

It was true. Many people, Danny and Lancer being a part of that group, thought that Danny- and by extension, Sam and Tucker- wouldn't make it that far in school because of falling grades, sleeping in class, and absences. Yet, they made it against all odds.

His parents, and everyone else, had yet to find out his secret. He was still Phantom. He was a hero, with a nice kickass girlfriend and an awesome best friend.

Life was good.

* * *

The ectoplasmic flames caused by a lab accident, burned into his flesh despite the fact that he was intangible. He didn't care as he ran into the house.

"Mom! Dad! Jazz! Tuck!"

He looked around desperately, coughing and gasping for air. He couldn't find them- not a single person. He cried out desperately,

"Sam?!"

The only answer he received was the creaking from the burning wood. Today was supposed to be a good day- his birthday. Today was supposed to be full of fun, birthday cake, maybe a few ghost butts to kick, and his family, friends, and _girlfriend._ But no. Today was not a good day.

Sam, Tucker and Jazz were going to throw him a surprise party. They were almost finished decorating when they spotted Skulker from the outside, aiming a missile towards Danny. They didn't get the chance to react as the missile missed its target and hit the house, engulfing the house in the ectoplasmic fire.

Danny had seen everything happen, but he didn't care about dealing with Skulker. The only thing he cared about what trying to see if anyone was safe... and that it was his fault since Skulker was aiming for him.

"D-Danny," Sam's voice croaked out weakly.

"Sam," Danny said in relief as he went towards her, only to slow down when he saw the piece of wood that was lodged in her side.

"Sam," Danny repeated in a whisper, horrified.

He ran to her in a panic, not sure about what he should do.

"You'll be fine," Sam gasped, "I- l-love-"

She didn't finish her sentence. She couldn't finish her sentence.

"SAM!"

* * *

Danny pulled up the hood of his hoodie as he walked through the town. Everyone was still talking about the 'Fenton tragedy.' News reporters were still trying to find him despite that it happened a week ago. Everyone was still blaming Phantom. He was still mourning. He still blamed himself. He was still alone.

He didn't have anywhere to go- he wasn't going to go to Vlad's anytime soon. He didn't have money and he didn't have any friends... No. He had _one_ friend.

With an idea in mind, he quickly went to a payphone and used the last of his change to make a call.

_"Hello?"_

"Gear, it's me, Danny... I need a favor. Think you get me to New York?"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

**Third Person:**

Gear couldn't help but sigh as she ran a hand through her dark purple hair. After getting off the phone with Danny, she felt sick to her stomach. Her best friend from her old town- Jazz- was gone. She was dead. She lost her best friend. She couldn't wallow in self-pity though. Danny lost his the love of his life, his best friend, his sister, and his parents.

Sucking up her sorrow, she wondered if she warn the twins about the GiW- they were a bit like Ringleader in a way. Though she thought that the Guys in White were more dangerous since they lacked a very important thing- common sense. That made them dangerous, unpredictable, and spontaneous.

No, she shouldn't tell the twins. The twins had their own lives to worry about. Gear wasn't going to burden them with Danny.

She wondered if the alcohol store was still open... She shook her head. _No, I'm underage and I quit drinking. I'm fine. I'm fine._

She kept repeating that mantra in her head before she broke down in tears- the first time she's cried in _years_. Her best friend was gone.

The least she could do was help the one guy that was her best friend's little brother and like a little brother to herself.

She owed that to Jazz.

* * *

Danny ran. He was finally in New York, and that was good. He would meet up with Gear and everything would be fine. But the bad part, well, the Guys in White were on his tail. He had been running from them since he had left Amity Park, and was sick and tired of them. They were so annoying. He couldn't get a full nights sleep, or a decent meal without them showing up a few minutes later. As a result, he was a bit thinner, and had bags under his eyes.

Currently, he was running from-guess who-the GiW. He was in his human form, so they had a bit more trouble in finding him, but they were surprisingly smarter than they let on.

He panted as he ran into an alley, and the GiW were forced to stop a second later. He peeked out and found that there were a bunch of superheroes fighting some super recognized a few of them. There was Captain America, and there was Thor, along with a couple of ones he wasn't quite familiar with.

The girl had on black combat boots, with black jeans tucked inside, and he could see the tips of knife handles popping out of both boots. She also had a black tank top with the white half of the Ying-Yang sign, and had white fingerless gloves, one of them covering her metal arm. But that wasn't the surprising part. She also had red-orange fur, claws, fangs, dark blue dragon wings, and a cougar tail. She had her long dirty blonde hair put in a ponytail, and even with all of the jumping around she was doing, her bangs seemed drawn to the left side of her face.

The boy, who he assumed was her brother, looked almost exactly like her, except both of his arms were flesh and bone. He had the same color fur, and dragon wings, but instead of dark blue, the were pitch black. His dirty blonde hair was put into a fohawk. He wore black combat boots and black jeans, like the girl, and had the knives as well, but instead of a black tank top, he wore a white shirt that made his muscles pop out. The logo on his chest was the black half of the Ying-Yang symbol.

"Ah, come on, Wrecker! You can do better than that!" The girl taunted the guy who was wielding a...Crowbar? What a weird weapon for s super villain.

"Animal, this is not the time around," Cap said sternly as he punched one of them in the face. Animal scoffed.

"It's just the wrecking crew. Besides, what about Creature?"

Creature stuck out his tongue as he kicked his opponent in the face, sending him a few yards away.

"I already got mine!"

Animal punched hers in the stomach, making him hunch over in pain. Then she grabbed his head and smashed it into her knee. When he was still standing, unstable but still up, she grabbed his crowbar and smacked him across the face, sending him and a few of his teeth flying.

"So do I!"

Danny couldn't help but watch as the so-called heroes fought. He used to be like that- full of energy and a drive to protect. He still had it, in a way. But not entirely- not when he had to stay on the down low and just watch his every step.

Besides, he had work to do. He had to find Gear. She was good at hacking- she could see where the GiW was and how close they were to him. She could even set him up with a house here easily- he knew she had the resources. Granted, not all resources were _legal.  
_

Animal looked over at Danny briefly as the sent of half-decay reached her nose and led her to him. She raised an eyebrow, _what homeless kid smells like they're half dead? _

Her twin looked to her and sniffed, smelling the sent. He crinkled his nose and followed her gaze to the guy that looked about their age, who was just standing there watching the fight.

Feeling conscious as the heroes looked at him, Danny kept his head down, using the black hoodie to hide his hair and face. Though his hoodie wasn't much of a hoodie, it was worn and torn. His jeans weren't in a much better state as well. He kept his head down as he walked away, well aware that the heroes' eyes were still on him.

* * *

Alex frowned as she leaned against the counter, her fist under her chin, adopting a pose of deep thought that had been completed with the furrowed brow. There was just something off about the kid. Yeah, he was homeless, but he didn't smell homeless. He smelled half dead, and that was something she couldn't explain. And she and her brother, Axel, were able to explain just about everything. It bugged her to no end.

She sighed and shook her head.

_Wait till I tell Axel and Gear..._


	3. Chapter 2

**Authors' Note: Please review!  
**

**~The Nerdlings**

**Chapter 2:**

**Third Person:**

Alex looked up from her thought pose as Axel and Gear walked in. She smirked, but was back to her extremely focused look in a fraction of a second.

"Just the people I wanted to talk to," She said.

They looked at her expectantly. Usually when Alex needed to say something with that tone of voice it was pretty serious, and you didn't want to take a single word lightly.

"Is it about that-" Axel started. she nodded, and he shut up before finishing his sentence, an expression similar to Alex's coming across his face.

"During the fight," Alex started, "We say this boy in the ally way. He looked like a normal homeless kid with black hair and blue eyes-"

"-Then why are you worried about him?" Gear interrupted.

"Because," Axel said, "He didn't smell like he was fully alive. He smelled like he was decaying, like...Like he was half dead." Alex nodded at his words, her frown deepening.

She loved kids, tolerated teenagers, but that kid...Well, he wasn't normal. No homeless guy ever smelt like that. It was disturbing to say the least, that someone might have gone through torture, to be half dead.

Gear shifted her weight from side to side slightly. She knew they were talking about Danny. He matched the description perfectly, and now that she thought about it, it made a lot of sense for him to be smelling half dead. She frowned slightly.

"I'm gonna look into it," Alex said suddenly.

Axel nodded in agreement.

"Same. That smell was...Off, like...I...I can't explain it, it was just..."

Alex nodded, knowing full well how he felt. saying it was disturbing or weird even for them was an understatement. That was saying something considering the twins were created by a skrull called the Ringleader.

"Well, I'm gonna go hack the satellites and S.H.I.E.L.D. to see if they have any dirt on the kid," Gear said, playing it ff like she didn't know anything.

Thankfully, the twins were so deep in thought that they didn't see her leave, and they didn't show any signs of suspicion. Usually when she lied they could see right through it. She wasn't actually planning on hacking S.H.I.E.L.D., but she wasn't lying about the satellites. She needed to locate Danny, make a fake home and I.D. for him, give him some many. After all, she had resources that not even the other Avengers, minus the twins, knew about.

"You go get the laptops, I'll get a snack," Axel said, turning to Alex. She nodded slowly, as if in a trance, and walked out.

* * *

Gear locked herself in her lab, careful to do it casually so that the twins didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. When she made it down there, she sighed in relief. If she just spent another second up there, she might have spilled the secrets.

Now Gear was a very loyal person, she didn't tell secrets. However, when it came to the twins- she trusted them. She trusted them so much that it was hard for her to just lie to them at the risk of losing their friendship. _But Danny comes first. Here we go Double D (Danny Dude)._

She spent several hours on the phone and the computers, looking at different apartments and small houses in the area. When she finally found one, she paid for it quickly for an immediate move-in. Then she called up a source of hers to decorate the small house so that it would be ready. After paying him extra to have it done within a day, she called up a store and had them deliver different pieces of clothing to that house. Then, when she got the call from Paul (the decorator), she smiled- the house was ready. The best part was that the house would be close to her own.

She hacked into the different security cameras and finally spotted Danny. Smirking, she called up a telephone booth that close by. She watched on the screen as he answered the phone.

"Dude," Gear greeted, "wassup?

_"Do you always have to do that? It's kind of... stalker-ish."_

"If that's the case, I can just hand up right now and-"

_"No! No, I mean...Don't."_

She smiled,

"It's fine, Danny Dude. Look, go to 221 Baker, it's down the road you're on now, take the first left, two rights and then another left. Go down straight, it's the fifth small house on the right."

_"Got it. Why?"_

"It's a surprise," Gear said vaguely and then she sighed, "Danny?"

"_Yeah?"_

"Be careful, okay? I know the heroes of New York City."

"_Why do you always know the heroes? That's like a recurring theme with you."_

"Because I'm badass, why else," Gear huffed, "Look, two of them- Animal and Creature- are a bit suspicious of you. According to them, you smelt half-dead. Don't worry, I'll keep my trap shut. Just... lay low, got it?"

"_Noted."_

With that, Gear hung up, hoping that she made the right choice.

* * *

Alex sneezed, screwing up the thing she was typing in the search engine. Axel didn't even flinch as his twin backspaced, typed some more, and pressed enter. He couldn't help but think that something was up with Gear. It wasn't normal for her to lie to them like that. But they also knew that Gear was _extremely _loyal, and wouldn't spill unless she was in a situation where she absolutely had to.

"You saw what was up with Gear too, right?" Alex asked, looking up from her screen.

He nodded.

"Yeah, and I'm kinda worried about her. She was totally stressing a few minutes ago."

"Where was Gear's home town?"

Alex thought for a moment. Gear had been to a number of places, so it was kinda hard to remember which was which.

"Uh, a small town called Amity Park, I think," he said. Alex chuckled slightly.

"No wonder she believes in ghosts. She grew up in a ghost town."

Alex bit the tip of her tongue in concentration as she scrolled through the things listed. There was the Amity Tragedy. Ghost sighting in Amity, Amity's Lost Son...

She clicked on that one. A title like that was obviously shouting at people that there was a missing kid.

"Huh."

Axel looked at her quizzically.

"Find something?"

She nodded slowly, scrolling through the page. It was all about a kid named Daniel Fenton, a normal kid who ran away after his house mysteriously blew up. His parents, along with his sister, Jazz Fenton and best friends, Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson. She frowned at the picture of Vladmir masters making a speech about the missing Daniel. She handed her laptop to her twin, watching his face as he read the articles. He clicked on a picture and showed Alex. Her eyes widened slightly and she smirked. It was a picture of Jazz, Daniel, and Gear.

"Okay, well that solves that puzzle," Alex said, "But there's also a lot of people saying that this Phantom dude kidnapped him, or killed him. Yet other's say he's a hero, and has saved the town hundreds of times. Even from a guy named Pariah, the king of some Ghost Zone. Do you think we should talk to Gear about it?"

"No. She'll tell us when she's ready. We shouldn't push her, we'll trust her."

Before either twin could discuss their thoughts, Clint burst through the room.

"What are you guys doing? Tonight we get pizza, remember?"

"Is Stark buying?"

Hawkeye nodded and the twins shrugged.

"Sure, whatever."

* * *

Danny whistled as he entered the house. It was pretty simple- one bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen, living room. The floors were dark hardwood floors and the walls were all a simple light gray color. As he realized that everything was furnished- there was a couch, TV, shelf, curtain, and everything he might need in the living room, necessities in the bathroom, food and appliances in the kitchen along with a table and chairs- he knew he had to give his thanks to Gear because it couldn't have been easy for her to do everything.

He finally reached the bedroom only find a note on the door. It was written in cursive that was a bit slanted to the right, big, and loosely written, but it still fit between the lines of the notebook paper it was written on.

_Hey Danny dude,_

_I hope you like the new place. I told Paul to leave this note here so I hope you're actually reading this. Anyway, no thanks is needed because let's face it- I'm kickass and too cool for apologies. Just kidding, but seriously it's all good dude._

_Remember, you need to stay low. I'll get on in a few and track the Guys in White to make sure that they aren't following you, which I'm sure that they aren't._

_Anyway, go check out your room and feel free to explore New York. There's an awesome pizza place near the library on 5th street that's pretty good. You'll find some money in the first dresser drawer in your new room. You probably need to eat something- you looked thin on the cameras.  
_

_With a kickass attitude,  
_

_Gear_

_(P.S. Be careful around the heroes if you see them)._

He rolled his eyes at her signature that did a loop at the end that made the shape of a gear. He entered the bedroom as he pocketed the note. His eyes widened. The ceiling was covered with stars, NASA posters were along the walls along with Humpty Dumpty posters, and there was a large oval bed with black sheets and pillows. There was a simple dresser and nightstand along with a closet. A quick look inside the closet revealed that there was in fact new clothes for him. He smiled slightly, knowing that Gear was nice enough to leave him fashionable guy clothing- for once.

He went back to the dresser and sure enough, in the top drawer was a note and some cash.

_Don't worry about paying me back- it's on me._

_-Gear_

He pocketed the money and headed out- his stomach growling at the mere thought of a good slice of pizza.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

**Third Person:**

The twins, plus Gear, Tony, Clint, Steve, Jan, and Carol sat down at a wide booth in the back, near a window, so they had a perfect view of the street. To cover up the fact that they were superheroes, the twins wore the necklaces that matched their logos. Alex had her black hair in the same style, and wore jeans, combat boots, and a dark blue top. Axel had his now black hair in his usual fohawk, and wore black sneakers, jeans, and a dark red shirt that made most of his muscles pop out so that when the waitress came to take their orders, she had a nosebleed. Gear smirked and Alex rolled her eyes as Clint began to build a tiny arrow out of straws.

A few minutes later their four pizzas came. One veggie supreme for each twin since their metabolism was just that fast, and a cheese and three meat treat the others shared.

Gear, out of boredom, glanced out the window and nearly choked on her food. Across the street was Danny, and so she quickly looked away. Steve looked t her quizzically.

"Are you okay?"

Gear nodded and took another bite.

"Ju' 'ea' 'hy."

He nodded and went back to his conversation with Carol.

Alex, who was sitting directly by the window, looked out where she saw Gear had been looking. She nudged her brother, who was sitting next to her, and nodded ever so slightly out the window, casually taking a sip of her soda. He nodded, and she roughly shoved him, Clint, and Gear out of the booth so she could get out.

"I'll be right back," She said, walking outside.

She quickly ran across the street, shaking her fist at a taxi driver who was on his phone, and made her way to Daniel.

"Hey," she said, putting a fake smile on her face.

He nodded, looking at her a little surprised.

"Look, I'm not looking for a date or anything, but you look so thin it's unhealthy, so why don't you come and eat with us?"

"Uh...I don't even know your name..."

"Alex. Yours?"

"Danny."

She nodded and grabbed his arm in a tight grip, making him wince slightly, and dragged him-almost literally0inside before her could protest her actions. Much to Clint's protest she made him sit in her former seat and sat Danny down first before getting back in herself, trapping him in the booth.

"This is Danny. He looked a little to thin for my tastes so he's gonna eat with us. Danny, that's Axel, Clint, Steve, Jan, Carol, Tony, and Gear."

They all nodded, just kind of rolling with it. Axel looked between Gear and Danny. They both looked a little uncomfortable, but relieved at the same time. Thankfully for the twins, this hasn't been the first time they've brought a 'homeless' dude to eat with them. It was just their way of trying to help out a little more.

Gear looked everywhere but at Danny. She was scared that if she looked at him, she might forget that she's not supposed to know him and she'll slip up. Or worst, the twins would catch on that she knew him.

Steve, Tony, Carol, Clint and Jan looked over the guy that the twins dragged over. His raven black hair was a bit unhealthy looking since it was limp and a bit greasy. His blue eyes were bright in color, but dark like he saw too much and he knew too much- or like he knew something that they didn't. His skin was abnormally pale as well. Of course, to the twins he also smelt half-dead.

Danny slowly started to eat the pizza, avoiding eye contact with the others, especially Gear.

"So, Danny," Carol asked, "Where you from?"

"Amity Park," Danny said automatically before mentally kicking himself in the head.

Gear snorted into her drink, _smooth as sandpaper Danny dude._ Danny winced, just thinking exactly what Gear was at that moment. He wasn't so good at lying on the spot. Alex smirked to herself, _knew it. _Beside her, Axel smirked as well. Gear gave them curious looks and they looked at her innocently.

Danny looked at the others before him- _so these are Gear's friends? Weird bunch, but then again we were her friends back in Amity Park and we were weirder..._

"Amity Park," Tony mused, "That's the ghost capital isn't it?"

"Yep," Axel said, "Gear, don't you believe in ghosts?"

"W-what,' Gear stumbled slightly as she choked on her drink, "Yes, I do. I mean, yeah."

She shifted slightly, nudging Tony in the process.

"Hey, ow," Tony protested, "Watch it!"

"Sorry," Gear stuck out her tongue, "Maybe if we got a bigger booth this wouldn't happen."

"This is the booth we always go to," Steve pointed out.

"True, but shouldn't we move to a bigger one?"

Axel watched them discuss the booth with a raised eyebrow. _She dodged the question and managed to switch the topic away from Danny, ghosts, and herself- interesting. There's defiantly something up._

"Well," Gear said, standing up, snatching her third slice of pizza, "I better go. See ya guys later! Bye Alex, Axel, Danny dude."

She practically ran off.

* * *

When the rest of the heroes got back, they gave Hulk his pizza and the twins went to find their Gear. She was always saying that she was a Gear, she helped the system, made it better, made sure that everyone was doing their job correctly and if they weren't, she would help them. That's why she chose the name. And the fact that she was extremely tech savvy. When the Gear went out of place, or started acting weird, they were the ones to help her out.

Alex stood behind Axel as he knocked on Gear's door.

"Hold on!" Gear said from inside.

A second later the door swung open, revealing Gear's form, goggles and all.

"What's up?" She said, leaning on the doorway slightly, trying to act like nothing was bothering her.

"Are you okay?" Axel asked, showing real concern. Alex nodded and came into view.

"You've been acting a little...Strange lately," she said.

Gear was a little taken back. Alex looked and sounded worried, and that was something she never did. Gear knew that Alex didn't like showing any kind of emotion. Especially emotions like concern. In her mind, it was a sign of weakness, and in her words, an 'Occupational Hazard.' It was just the way their brains were hardwired, so Alex actually showing that much emotion told Gear that she truly was worried.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"Okay. Uh...We have a few more questions..."

"Hit me with your best shot."

"Aren't you from Amity Park? I mean, like, wouldn't you have old friends from there?" Axel said.

_Maybe that was the wrong choice of words, _Gear thought. She bit her lip slightly,.

"Yeah, I'm from Amity, but I don't know who that kid is. I left before he was born, probably."

They nodded slowly, not really buying what she was selling, but decided to let her do her thing until she was ready to tell them herself. They knew she would eventually. It might not have been in her nature, but it was clearly inevitable.

They just wondered what would happen before that happened.

* * *

When Gear shut the door, she took a deep breath and let it out in relief. She pressed her back against the door and tried to slow down her heartbeat. _That was a close one._ She knew at some point, she would have to tell them- probably to save Danny with her luck. Though it might even be the other way around. She might have to tell Danny about the twins.

She shook her head and sighed.

Whatever was going to happen, would happen... She was just going to try to put off for as long as she can.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

**Danny:**

I was quick to escape the pizza place, mostly because without Gear being there- or even those twins that invited me- it was getting very awkward and uncomfortable very fast. On the bright side, I got to meet Gear's friends. Though we didn't want them to know that we knew each other. If they knew where Gear was from then they could figure out where I'm from and then they would find that news article and then my secret's out- well one of them. I just wanted to start fresh and that included not everyone knowing about my past because it was just that- _my past. _Though I supposed if Gear did tell them that we knew each other it would be okay- it sure would be easier anyway.

Besides, I was _laying __low_. I shook my head, still what were the odds that the people who nicely invited me to eat with them would happen to be Gear's friends?

I wondered if they were the ones that she spoke to Jazz about. Wait, they _had_ to be the ones that Gear spoke to Jazz about. After all, I doubted that she knew more than one pair of twins. They seemed nicer than she said that they would be.

I walked into my new small house and plopped down on the couch as my thoughts drifted to the heroes of New York. I wondered if they would ever believe that I'm a hero too? If I wasn't on the run from the GiW, would Phantom even end up joining them? I doubted it.

Though at least they kept New York safe, I supposed.

So if New York was safe, did that mean I could go to school? I'm sure Gear could fake some records...

**Alex:**

I ran my metal arm through my hair, which was currently down. I couldn't help but worry about my best-one of my only-friends. My social circle wasn't very big. It consisted of the Avengers, and not all of them I really liked, only respected, three of the X-Men (Charles,Wolverine, and Beast, but Nightcrawler was pretty fun to prank), and half of the Fantastic Four. Axel was a little more diversified, but I blame that on his muscles, considering the girls come to him before he even so much as looks at them. I had already lost a lot of people I cared about, and watched them suffer, and I didn't want that to happen to Gear. I sighed and flopped on my bed, not really wanting to sleep, but also kind of wanting to. How long had it been? A week? Two weeks? I never slept much. I had extremely vivid nightmares thanks to the skrulls and such. Mainly the Ringleader. I lived through it once, I didn't need to see it again.

I stretched, and before my hyperactive mind could protest, my muscles took over and I fell asleep.

_"No! Stop it! You're hurting them, hurt me instead!" I yelled as I watched the five genetic experiments get tortured. They were bloody, and 17's giant rabbit ears were completely lifeless, and I was pretty sure 29 wasn't breathing at all anymore. They had been my babies, and I let them get killed. _

_"Stop it!" Axel yelled. Ringleader came over to where we were chained against the wall, unable to move, and electrocuted us both. Then she went back and began killing them even more. 29 coughed and I looker at her bloodied and bruised face as she peaked her eye open at me._

_"...H...Help..."_

_It was barely audible, only loud enough for me and Axel to hear, and that was only because we had super hearing. Tears started streaming down my face as Ringleader took her alien knife and slashed her throat._

_"She was the runt of the litter and had to go. She was weak. Like you," She said, turning to me. I grit my teeth, ready for anything she threw at me. Except her throwing her knife behind her and embedding it in 25._

_"NO! STOP IT, PLEASE!" I shrieked. It wasn't fair that they got hurt, they weren't even two years old yet. Though they looked like they were all ten. It was awful._

_"I will not. You need to toughen up, 23. You can't have these things to get attached to. They're worthless freaks. In fact, they were made as a test, just to see how well you would react to them getting hurt. You failed."_

_My eyes widened. nobody was worthless, no matter their purpose for being made. I felt anger rising in my chest and snapped at her. She quickly dodged and sent a kick with her heeled boots into my stomach. _

_"No one is worthless. Thinking that is just inhumane."_

_Ringleader chuckled menacingly._

_"Who ever said I was a human?"_

**Axel:**

I sat up out of bed in a giant fur ball of wetness, which was not a fun thing. I got nightmares as often as Alex, but hers were memories. Such unimaginably vivid memories. I looked at my clock, to find that is was only three in the morning. I groaned and got out of bed, heading down to the kitchen.

Despite my normal happy demeanor, I was a freaking whirlwind on the inside. I just put the mask on so my friends wouldn't worry. They've done to much for us already. While S.H.I.E.L.D. had been hunting us when we first escaped, the Avengers took us in without a seconds thought. We denied constantly, not wanting to get to close to any one but each other. We have reasons for dong everything we do, and we did so so that nobody would get hurt because of any stupid choices we made.

I sighed and sat on the edge of my bed, taking off my sticky, sweaty shirt and throwing it into laundry basket. I knew Alex was already out of her room by now, not wanting to talk to anyone, or just looking for a quiet place where she could think because there are three things she can't do very well. She can't express her emotions, she can't think clearly in any room, unless it was very big, and she couldn't sleep in a bed for more than an hour. They were uncomfortable for her.

I shook my head, trying to clear my horrible thoughts as I headed down to the kitchen. They I found Alex in her pajamas. But, since we had the fur, we didn't really need to sleep in a lot of clothing so as a result, all she had on was some underwear and a big baggy shirt. She snorted.

"Are those...Captain America boxers?"

I looked down and shrugged.

"Jan bought them for me. Anyway..."

She nodded, knowing exactly what I was talking about. We had this little mental link that let us send images to each other that let us get the point across, but every now and then, we shared a nightmare.

"Do...Do you ever think we could have done more? For them I mean. I..."

I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. We had got so powerless that day, and it haunted us every secnd of our lives.

"I...I honestly don't know. I...I'm sorry."

She punched me in my arm with her metal one.

"Quit getting sappy and shuffle the cards. I'll make some coffee or something."

I nodded, smiling sightly, and went into the living room. We played for a while before it was late/early enough that we knew it was likely Gear was awake. Though for all we knew, she could've been awake for as long as we've been. We just needed to make sure, however, because it was clear that we made her uncomfortable with the questions.

We owed her an apology.

**Third Person:**

When the twins reached Gear's house, they were fully dressed and back into their more human appearance. However, when the door opened they found that Gear wasn't as fully dressed. She stood there with purple messy bed head, her yellow-tinted goggles lay loosely around her neck, her pale eyes were slowly dropping, and she wore only her metallic bracelet that went from her elbow to her wrist, a baggy blue shirt, and purple and black striped underwear. Axel slightly avoided his gaze as Alex shook her head. Gear didn't even bat an eye as she let the twins in with a yawn.

"Not that I don't appreciate the friendly visits, but what are you doing here so early?"

"It's eleven o'clock," Alex pointed out.

"It's early to me," Gear shrugged, "I don't exactly go to bed early."

"What time did you go to bed," Axel asked curiously with a quirked eyebrow.

"I don't know... Pfft... Like ten in the morning? Nine, maybe?"

_Looks like she got about as much sleep as us,_ the twins thought as Gear rubbed at her eyes.

"So, do you guys want breakfast or anything?"

"No thanks," Axel and Alex declined as they took a seat on her sofa.

Gear headed to the kitchen, not bothering to get dressed, and poured herself a cup of milk.

"Good, I'm terrible cook," Gear said as she sat down, "So what's up?"

"We wanted to apologize," Alex said through gritted teeth.

Gear whistled,

"Woah, an apology- that's new."

"We know you'll tell us everything when you're ready," Axel said.

"Good," Gear nodded, "But...Honestly, you guys should know...Damn I hope he's okay with this."

She ran a hand through her already messy hair,

"Look, I lied, okay? I do know that homeless kid. His name is Danny. He's like a little brother to me, okay?"

"Okay."

"He... His older sister, Jasmine... She was my best friend. She was the only one who understood all my tech talk- well, not really, but she understood better than most. We even planned on going to Harvard, Oxford, or Yale together- we were both accepted to all of them."

"What happened," Axel asked gently.

"Not my story tell," Gear shrugged, "Jazz is dead now, but as for why and who else went with her- that's Danny's story, not mine."

Just then her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller I.D. and frowned slightly.

"I gotta take this. Be back in a few."

The twins shrugged and Alex stood and went into the kitchen.

"Bring me a _Pepsi!" _he called.

She nodded and started aiding the fridge, unable to keep herself from overhearing Gear's conversation.

"Hey, Double D, what's up?

_"Nothing much, but uh...Gear?"_

"Yeah?"

_"Can you get me into school? Like fake records and everything?"_

"Dude, you know I can, but why?"

_"I...I uh- just feel like I need to do this. Besides, it was you who said I needed to lay low. Especially Since the Guys in White-"_

"-Yeah, I'll make some. Any particular school you were wanting?"

_"Uh, I don't know. Midtown High, I guess?"_

"Alright. It'll be done by tomorrow. You'll start next Monday."

_"Okay. And Gear?"_

"Yo."

_"Thanks."_

"No problem, Danny Dude. Just hang in there."

Alex heard her click her cell phone off and quickly grabbed the drinks and went back to the living room, where Axel was examining the wood of the coffee table. She rolled her eyes and pressed the soda to the back of his neck. He didn't even flinch as he took it from her hands with a thanks.

Though she couldn't help but wonder about Gear and Danny's conversation- _just who are the Guys in White?_

"What took so long?"

"Later."

He could tell how serious her voice was, so he just nodded.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**Danny Pov:**

_"D-Danny," Sam's voice croaked out weakly._

_"Sam," Danny said in relief as he went towards her, only to slow down when he saw the piece of wood that was lodged in her side._

_"Sam," Danny repeated in a whisper, horrified._

_He ran to her in a panic, not sure about what he should do._

_"You'll be fine," Sam gasped, "I- l-love-"_

_She didn't finish her sentence. She couldn't finish her sentence._

_"SAM!"_

I woke up in a cold sweat clutching my sheets. I closed my eyes tightly, the tears already threatening to fall.

"I love you too," I whispered.

If there was one thing that I wished- it would be that I had saved that ring. The ring that I was going to give to her- that stupid little class ring. If there was anything I could have saved to remind me of her- that would be it. It was going to be the promise ring that would swear us to each other.

My alarm clock then blared loudly, signaling that it was indeed time to get ready. I turned off the alarm clock and was surprised to see a note on the nightstand.

_Hey Danny Dude,_

_We need to talk. If you notice, it's only six in the morning since I changed your alarm. Now get dressed and come to my house. I'll make breakfast, I swear. _

_-Gear_

Once again, there was a little loop at the end of her name that formed a small gear. It was her signature after all. At the bottom, under her signature, was what I assumed was her exact address- it was only two houses down from mine. I looked to the clock- like the note said it was six in the morning instead of seven. Sighing, I got up and showered, hoping that maybe if I scrubbed hard enough my depressing thoughts would come off.

I changed into some classic jeans, red sneakers, and a white t-shirt since it was close to what I wore back at Amity Park. Deciding to change it up, I grabbed the black hoodie and a red beanie as well.

Shaking my head, I headed out and went to her house. For once, when she opened the door she was dressed in her normal attire- the metallic bracelet, her goggles, black skinny jeans, a black bandeau top, black combat boots, and she had the metallic belt that hung loosely around her waist. Both of us knew, however, that both the bracelet and belt weren't just for show.

She smiled,

"Double D, wassup? Come in."

"Wow, Gear," I said as I walked in, "I think this is the first time you've woken up this early."

"Yeah yeah," she grumbled, "Whatever. I usually wake up at seven thirty."

"On a school day," I pointed out, "When it comes to the weekends, I know for a fact that you usually sleep in until like two in the afternoon. After all your sleepovers with Jazz..."

My voice died off at the end and we shared a somber look. Gear took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen as I plopped down on the couch.

"So," I said hopefully, "Breakfast?"

"Don't sound so cheerful at this unholy hour, it's unnatural," Gear grumbled, "And you know full well I don't cook."

"Yet you said you were going to make breakfast?"

"I was kind of hoping that you would be okay with cereal," Gear said sheepishly.

"I'll make it," I offered, "years of living with my p- parents made me kind of a chef."

Gear laughed,

"_You?_ If I recall correctly, Jazz was the talented cook."

"No really," I laughed, "I was the cook, she just liked everyone to believe that it was her cooking."

I was sure that it was the first time I was able to talk about my old family in good ways without getting sad. I got up and opened her fridge. I grabbed some eggs, milk, and bacon.

"For someone who doesn't know how to cook, you sure have a lot of cooking supplies."

"It's more of a habit. I kind of live on hot pockets and TV diners," Gear said sheepishly.

Curious, I opened her freezer and whistled. _Tons_ and I meant _tons_ of TV diners- ranging from Salisbury steak diners to pasta to the family size turkey with gravy- were stacked up in the freezer along with a _lot_ of hot pockets, but I noticed the hot pockets were mostly ones that had meat in it.

Shaking my head, I started to fix breakfast for the both of us.

"So, what did you want to talk about," I asked.

"Well, you know the twins that gave you the pizza," Gear started.

"Yeah?"

"Well, they know that I know you," Gear sighed, "I mean, it's not too big of a deal, but I just felt that they needed to know, you know?"

I sighed,

"Do you trust them?"

"With my life."

Considering that Gear usually didn't trust people so easily, I nodded.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Gear looked a bit taken back before she laughed. I wasn't sure why she was laughing, but it was wasn't long before we were both laughing as we retold stories about my family. We were still laughing and telling stories as we ate.

"-I don't think I ever told you what happened when we were little," Gear mused, "You were really young, but when Jazz and I were like seven years old. I woke her up when she was spending the night at my house because it started to snow. We sneaked outside without jackets and ended up catching a cold. We were both stuck inside so we actually just shared my bed until we both got better. You probably don't remember, but you came and visited us since we were at my house."

"I did," I asked shocked, not recalling the memory.

"Yeah," Gear laughed, "I remember because you brought over Bearbert for Jazz. You were so shy and embarrassed, but it all went away when Jazz sneezed on you! You were out of there very fast, there was practically a trail of fire behind you!"

We both laughed as we finished eating.

"So, school," Gear said, standing up, "Let's go DD."

I wondered what today held for me.

**Third Person:**

Axel slammed on Alex's door and glanced down at his watch. It was seven thirty, and if she didn't hurry they would be late.

"Alex, come on! We're gonna be late!"

"Then why don't you quit trying to break my door and let's leave."

Axel whirled around to see Alex, already ready for their first day at Midtown. Technically it wasn't their first day. Their true first day had been about three years ago, when Steve had suggested a more normal way of living. They just stopped going when the dojo Alex taught at blew up.

Axel looked at how normal his sister could look. She was wearing jeans, black converse, and a light blue top. Axel was wearing something similar. Jeans, red converse, and a green shirt. He frowned slightly.

_Why do all of my shirts make my man tits pop out? _he thought. Alex couldn't help but snort.

"Dude, quit being so self conscious. I know that's a normal teenager thing, but we're not normal. Besides, Carol and Jan think you look good that way. Now can we please go now?"

He nodded and followed her outside and into a taxi.

* * *

Alex sighed as another dodge ball came her way. She caught it with her usual monotone expression and chucked it at the guy behind Axel. It was third period, which meant gym. However, their dodge ball game was interrupted by the large double doors opening and closing.

Alex and Axel looked to the doors to see Danny stumbling through. He wore jeans, a red shirt and beanie, along with a black hoodie.

"Sorry I'm late, I kinda got lost," he said to the gym teacher.

He blew his whistle in Danny's face and started yelling at him, and to get out there and try not to get hit in the face. He quickly nodded and went to Axel's side, eying him closely. Axel nodded a hello before chucking his ball at a jock from Alex's team. She didn't mind though. He had a bad arm anyway.

She looked back at her people on the sidelines, not really paying attention to the game anymore. She got bored really easily, but felt obligated to finish what she had started.

Axel watched as the guy who was a bit bigger than Danny threw a ball at his sister, who was looking away. Needless to say, he had a pretty good arm, and good aim. Probably a baseball player.

Danny watched the dodge ball head towards that girl twin that gave him pizza. he was about to shout out a warning but was to late. He squeezed his eyes shut as he heard the ball make contact with her, but something was off. There was no bouncing of the ball on the floor, or a body hitting the floor. He peaked an eye open to see Alex firmly grasping the ball, her head turning and glaring at the person who threw it.

"Two things," She said, taking a couple steps forward, making shivers running up Danny's spine. Axel just sighed, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

"One, Face shots aren't aloud, and two" She chucked the ball at him. It went so fast he had no time to dodge, and he ended up getting hit in his man berries,

"That was a cheap shot," She finished.

The very few people on her team were snickering at the boy that was crawling away. She looked over at Coach, who had his mouth open and his clipboard on the ground.

"I have never seen anybody throw a dodge ball that hard, and with such good aim. How about you join-"

"-No thanks, not interested. I have plenty to do at home. Trust me."

"He shut his mouth after she glared at him slightly and went to get an ice pack for the fallen boy.

"Alex, was that really necessary?" Axel asked, shaking his head.

"Of course. If I hadn't done that then he would have ever learned."

"How I ended up with a person like you for a twin I will never understand. I mean, come on, the stomach would have been better. You can't just go for a dude's melons like that."

Danny couldn't help but chuckle and nod in agreement.

"Yeah...But his reaction was kind of funny..."

All three in unison looked over at the boy who had an ice pack on his crotch and smirked.

Danny didn't really know what to think about the twins. The girl seemed way tougher than her doppleganger, and also kind of bipolar. She was nice to him before they even knew each other's names, and then completely full on demon at the guy during just a dodge ball game gone wrong. Axel seemed more like the caring type, who wouldn't do such an inhumane thing to another dude unless he had to. Yet, at times, they mirrored each other perfectly, through attitude, movement, and mood. He was knocked out of his thoughts when the bell rang. He saw how the twins looked at each other and smiled sort of widely.

"Lunch!"

* * *

Gear was the first of their little group to arrive in the cafeteria. She quickly got her lunch- which was a lot more than most people would expect her to eat. She got two burgers and a slice of meat trio pizza. It got extra, of course, but it was worth it. She had a high metabolism. According to some research, using your brain actually does burn calories and since she used her brain a lot more than most people, she had to eat a lot to keep from 'burning out.'

She sat down in her usual seat and began to devour her food. For a while, she watched the new freshmen try to figure everything out and look lost. As soon as one of them started to sit beside her, she tsk'ed.

"No can do, freshmeat."

"W-what," the freshman asked shocked.

"Nothing personal dude," Gear smiled, "but I'm saving these seats for my buddies."

She heard Danny's laughter.

"Oh look there they are now!"

Her eyes widened as she shoved another large bite of burger into her mouth. Danny was entering the cafeteria with the twins. She whistled as the freshman looked confused. Danny didn't get any food as he sat down beside Gear.

"No food," Gear asked.

"More like, forgot my money," Danny shrugged.

Grumbling, she shoved one of her extra burgers to him,

"You owe me, dork."

Danny thanked her as he began to eat, but he raised an eyebrow at the freshman,

"Who's he?"

"The guy whose in my seat," Alex answered as she came to the table.

She glared at the freshman who gulped. The poor guy quickly left the table, taking his food with him. Alex huffed as she sat down beside Gear. Her tray even had more food than Gear's. Axel's tray was just as filled.

"You need to pay more attention," Axel said as he took a seat across from Gear.

"Wah," Gear asked, her mouth full of food.

"That guy was checking you out," Axel pointed out, "And staring at your chest."

Gear just shrugged, not really caring since the guy in question had already left. Alex just shook her head while Danny watched curiously.

"How come you eat so much? And why is it all vegan stuff?"

"We're vegans with extremely high metabolism. It's a pain, but it also means I can eat without getting fat, so it's also kind of a good thing," Alex replied. Axel nodded in agreement.

"Besides, we have a few more complex reasons. I mean, come on, who would want to eat food that you don't know where it came from. It's just gross." Axel stuck out his tongue out slightly for emphasis.

Danny couldn't help but feel torn up on the inside. After all, the person he loved had been a vegan, while his best friend had eaten nothing but meat and junk food. Not only that but Alex reminded Danny of Sam a lot. They were both tough, and wore dark colors, and had dark hair. He sighed.

"What's up?" Axel asked. he shrugged.

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Okay," Alex said, "When you say 'don't worry about it' right after you say 'nothing' it kind of gives away the fact that something is indeed bothering you. But, we know when to not push about personal things, so...Yeah..."

Alex nodded.

"Thanks. So...Where are you guys from?"

"New York, born and raised," They answered at the same time.

"Cool."

The twins nodded, and Alex felt her left eye twitch. She muttered a curse under her breath as it started to ache.

"Something wrong?" Danny asked.

"No, it's just my eye. See, a few years ago I got into this fight, and he kind of got my eye with his blade. I can't see out of this eye."

She moved her bangs away from her face so he could see. His eyes widened. There was a huge slash that went from the middle of her forehead and across her eye. Even on her eye ball there was a deep scratch.

"That must have hurt."

She shrugged.

"Well, this is New York. You either learn and adapt, or you get out of town. They're not joking when they say it's a concrete jungle."

Gear looked at Alex surprised. She never showed anyone her eye, let alone just blurt out she was half blind. That was giving away a weakness, and that was something Alex nor Axel ever did. It was just unnatural for them.

"Tell anyone and you're dead."

Danny gulped and nodded as she stuffed more fruit into her mouth, muttering to herself.

"Well, that was odd," Axel said, picking up his magically empty tray. Alex followed after, not really bothering to say good bye. Danny turned to Gear.

"You have some weird friends."

Gear snorted.

"You don't know that half of it, Double D."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Third Person:**

"Thor, come on! Grab Hulk, I think we're going up against something of your specialty," Animal said as she tan out the door, Creature close at her heels.

He nodded and took out his I.D. card and pressed the button.

"Avengers, Assemble!"

"YOU RUINED THE MOMENT!" Hulk said, smashing Thor into next week and following the twins out the door. Thor groaned and readjusted his helmet and flew out to join the others.

Thankfully the fight was only a few streets away, when he got there the twins were already 's breath caught in his throat.

It was Surtur's fire demons. That could only mean he was rising, and at a quick pace.

"Have at thee!" Animal yelled, kicking a demon in the face.

One of her shoes disintegrated, revealing the knife in it. She grabbed it and sliced the demon's chest, making it scream in pain, but the knife melted in her hands.

* * *

Danny's hand started to twitch as he watched the fight unfold from a distance. Beside him stood Gear, who was tinkering with the bracelet on her arm. She look up briefly, amused,

"Dude, just go fight."

"I can't," Danny protested, "I just... That's not laying-low and you know it."

"I know," Gear shrugged, "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. At the moment, they're getting their ass kicked."

She gestured towards the fight,

"And we both know they could use the help from a certain little _phantom._"

Danny looked back at the fight and winced when one of the heroes hit a building. He looked back at Gear, unsure if he could hold back any longer. He needed to fight. He needed to _protect._

"Go," Gear waved him off, "Go kick ass, take names."

After a quick 'thank you', Danny ran behind the alley and transformed into Phantom. However, Gear stopped him before he could take another step.

"Here," she said, shoving a cloak into his arms, "If you're that worried."

"Where did you get a cloak?"

"Just go," Gear said, dodging the question, "Go!"

Phantom nodded, put the black and white cloak on, and headed out.

* * *

"I am afraid that brute strength isn't enough to defeat these creatures," Thor said, hitting one with him hammer.

"The how about you let me help."

The small band of Avengers whirled around to find a figure in a black cloak. Creature and Animal were the only ones that looked at him close enough to see his glowing green eyes and peaks of his white hair. Animal and Creature shared a look when they sniffed the air- this kid smelt half-dead just like Danny. Were they connected? Or was the figure in front of them somehow Danny? Was he a mutant?

"Who the hell are you?" Animal asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm Phantom," Phantom said bowing slightly, "I just want to help."

"And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"Watch me," Phantom said with a smirk.

He shot an ecto-blast at one of the demons, making it cry in pain.

"How the hell..." Creature said, backing up from both the monsters and Phantom. Animal looked at the dissolving demon, hen at Phantom, and back at the demon.

"That's actually pretty badass," She said, pointing to the fire creature. Creature chuckled.

"Uh...Thanks?"

"Don't get used to it, I don't tend to give out compliments very often."

"'Tis true. Animal is not known for her praises," Thor said.

"Right. I'm known for my skill, my smart mouth, and the fact that J. Jonah Loud-Mouth gives good heroes like Spidey and us a bad name."

"What else can you do?" Hulk asked, smashing a fist into his palm. Phantom smiled.

"I have normal ghost powers, such as flight, intangibility, invisibility, and I can make ice," he said, counting them on his fingers.

When he said ice he shot an ice blast at the fire demon sneaking up on Thor and made it dissolve. Thor took a defensive stance.

"You're a drauger!" He exclaimed, raising his hammer.

Animal walked over to Creature.

"He seem familiar to you? Same scent and everything."

Creature frowned and nodded.

"Well...Considering all of the things we've seen, it's not a big surprise that either he is a full on ghost, or apparition, or a mutant. Either way is possible."

Animal nodded, leaving Thor trying to bet up Phantom.

"What are two doing? The dude is obviously trying to help us," Animal said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Draugers are creatures of unimaginable power. They cause madness and ultimate destruction wherever they go."

"Well, apparently the 'draugers' here are good. Well, this one is anyway," Creature said.

Phantom nodded, turning intangible so he shouldn't be hit by Thor as he shot more green blasts, along with the occasional ice.

* * *

When the battle was done, Animal turned to Phantom,

"Thanks," she growled.

"No problem," Phantom said sheepishly, "I mean it's really no problem... I should go."

Without another word, he flew off and disappeared.

"Don't worry," Creature said, "I know we'll be seeing more of him."

* * *

Gear looked at her computer screens, watching Phantom fly off. _I'm glad he's getting out there,_ Gear thought with a smile, _he needs to get back into the scene... _She had been watching the fight the entire time through her computer- she had hacked into the security cameras. She was still smiling as she switched the screen to something else.

She started typing at the screen and raised an eyebrow at all the videos. Word traveled fast in New York City so the video of the fight that happened just minutes before was already viral and there were already forums about the new 'superhero' Phantom. She frowned slightly as she then continued to type and her eyes widened at what she found. She grabbed her cell phone.

"Yo Double D!"

_"Gear? What's up?"_

"No time for the chit-chat, dude, we have a problem."

"_What?"_

"The Guys in White have been spotted heading towards New York. You fighting alongside the Avengers is already viral. I think the Guys in White saw it and got interested."

"_What!? No, no, no... We have to get out of here we have to-"_

"DANNY!"

_"What?"_

"Take a chill pill and calm the man-tits. It's not a problem, _yet_. Just be careful, be prepared, and whatever you do- make the Avengers your ally. It'll come in handy."

* * *

"Well...That was weird," Axel said as the heroes got home. Alex nodded and went straight to her room, dragging her twin along with her.

"What's up?" he said, taking her seat on the bed. She grabbed her laptop and shoved him to his usual spot.

"Remember when we were at Gear's place and I went to go get the sodas?" Alex asked, not taking her eyes off of the screen as she typed faster than Quicksilver.

"Uh yeah? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I overheard her on the phone with that Danny kid from school."

"The meta?"

She nodded.

"Also, remember when we looked him up? He's from a ghost town, and they have a ghost named Phantom, remember?"

He nodded, quickly putting the pieces together in his mind.

"Well, on the site people thought Phantom kidnapped Fenton, but we know that's not true since both of them have the same exact scent. Phantom is Fenton, so all we need to do is figure out why everyone hates him by looking here," she said, turning the laptop around and pointing to the screen.

"The Guys in White? How did you-"

"-I eavsedropped on Gear's convo with Danny."

"Ah. Now, what do they do exactly?"

"Says here they hunt for ghosts, secret government organization. They haven't got a single ghost-"

"-Because they're not real."

"Are you really gonna try and be a skeptic after who we just saw? Because if you are, then now you're just being stupid."

Axel shrugged.

"Whatever. So, they're after Phantom, but don't know that Fenton is Phantom? They must be really dense. Heck, even the names sound the same."

"We need to help the kid," Alex said, shutting her computer, "He needs it. We just can't let this sit and rot."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Third Person:**

Gear typed away at the computer screen in her lab as she heard noises coming from upstairs. She knew it was Danny, who was probably making diner for them. Danny didn't exactly wish to stay alone in his house since the GiW were close by and he was worried that they may go after Gear. As a result, Danny was living with Gear in the house until they were clear of the GiW.

"Yo Danny dude," Gear said as she walked back upstairs, "What's for diner?"

"Burgers," Danny replied easily as he sat the large burgers onto plates, "So... what's up with your friends?"

"_Our_ friends," Gear corrected, "Alex and Axel are _our_ friends, Danny. And what about them?"

"I don't know... don't they just see _off_?"

Gear smirked,

"Says the half-dead ghost kid."

"Touche."

Gear went to dig into her burger, but before she could, her phone went off. She answered it,

"This better be good, Alex, I was about to eat and I'm starved."

_"We know."_

With that, there was a dial tone and Gear deflated with a sigh.

"What was that about," Danny asked.

"Nothing too much, I think we'll be getting a visit from Alex and Axel soon, _very_ soon..."

* * *

It wasn't long until Alex and Axel were sitting themselves down on the couch across from Danny, who was extremely nervous. What if they told the GiW? Better yet, what if they told the Avengers, or S.H.I.E.L.D.?

"We know," Alex said. "We know about your...abilities, and the fact that some pretty bad people are after you."

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"We know you're Phantom. It takes a lot more than a shit load of perfume to cover that dead scent of yours, dude," Alex said.

Alex and Axel then proceeded to take off their necklaces, revealing their true form. Danny's eyes widened.

"We showed you our little trick. You show us yours," Alex said.

Danny sighed and stood up, letting the white rings wash over his form, turning him into Phantom. Both twins whistled.

"Why can't we do something like that?" Axel asked, pointing his thumb at Phantiom and looking to Alex.

She shrugged.

"Because the people who made us were dumbasses."

"Oh yeah. Too much beast and not enough human," he said, frowning slightly. A

lex nodded in agreement, and Danny just watched, utter confusion written on his face.

"Anyway," Gear said, "What are you two here for?"

"We're here to help obviously..." Alex said, "We know the Guys in White are after you, and we have a few ways of keeping them away."

"However," Axel said, "You have to let us help you. You have to trust us, and now that the needed secrets are exposed it should be a little bit easier."

"So..." Danny said. The twins sighed and shared a look.

"We want you to join the Avengers."

* * *

"How long before he comes?" Axel asked a few hours later.

Alex shrugged.

"A week, tops. At minimum, two or three days."

Axel nodded in agreement as he flipped through the channels, their board game forgotten.

"Before who comes?" Hawkeye said, stealing the bag of chips.

Axel slapped his hand and stole them back.

"New recruit," Alex said simply, popping a chip in her mouth.

Hawkeye raised an eyebrow.

"Relax, it's a gut feeling for both of us," Axel said.

Alex nodded in agreement.

"That gives you reassurance that it's a good one," she said.

Hawkeye scoffed.

"How do I know that for sure?" He asked skeptically.

The twins snorted.

"Because it's us. We've never been wrong with a gut feeling. It's called instincts."

"When have we ever steered you wrong?" Axel said.

Hawkeye opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, but before he could answer, Alex cut him off.

"That little bilgesnipe thing in Asgard doesn't count."

Hawkeye closed his mouth again and groaned.

"Fine, but I'm telling Cap and Shell Head about this. They would like to be in on it too."

The twins shrugged.

"Whatever."

* * *

Meanwhile, Gear and Danny were currently still at the house, debating over the options. Well Danny was debating, to Gear it was a pretty clear choice about what he should do.

"Do it," Gear said simply as she ate a few chips.

"But I don't know, won't that make me an easier target for the GiW," Danny ran a hand through his hair.

"Nope," Gear argued, "It would actually make it harder. Think about it- you would officially be a part of the team that so many look to as heroes. Bad press aside if they take you, Avengers is also a part of SHIELD and let's just say SHIELD takes protecting their own _very_ seriously..."

"If that's true then that means you're not able to hack them because their security is tight," Danny pointed out.

"False. I can hack into them easily enough, but you have to remember, I'm not exactly as dumb as the Guys In White. Plus SHIELD is a higher government thing- it has more power than GiW and I'm pretty sure that if the Guys in White attack a SHIELD agent _and_ an Avenger at that, SHIELD would be more than happy to shut them down."

Danny mulled over that in his thoughts. She had a point and a good one at that. Though one thing was still bugging him.

"What about you?"

"What about me," Gear raised an eyebrow.

"You knew about them."

"That I did dude, but like your secret, I kept it hidden. It was theirs to tell just like yours was yours to tell. Double D, listen to me and listen to me good, those twins have been through hell in back just like you have and if you can relate to anyone, you can relate to them and _trust_ them."

Danny was a bit shocked as she got into his face, poking his chest with every word she said for emphasis. He wasn't sure though, how could those twins relate to what he's been through? Then again, he was sure that some type of experimentation was involved in their back story. With that in mind, he asked one single question that would depend on whether or not he would say yes.

"Do _you_ trust them," Danny asked seriously.

Gear didn't trust that easily. She was always paranoid, double checking on alibis, and was always watching. When she did trust, however, it was the strongest form of trust and loyalty- granted, if someone broke her trust, she would give them absolute hell.

"With my life," Gear said in a heart beat.

"...Then I guess I'm in."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

**Third Person:**

"You made the right choice," Gear informed him as Phantom floated a few inches above the ground.

Phantom nodded slightly, doubt still in his mind ever so slightly. Gear rolled her eyes and gave him a big pat on the back,

"Don't you dare get any doubt, Double D. I'm telling you, these guys are pretty cool. Thor might not like you because of your status, but the _my-hair-is-perfect_ prince can get over it."

Phantom gave a loud snort at her nickname for the Asguardian prince. Gear just smiled cheekily. She typed away at her computers and Phantom looked over her shoulder curiously. She stopped typing for a brief moment. A map was on one of her computer screens, but another screen showed a camera feed of the Avengers talking in some sort of conference room. The bluetooth in her right ear allowed her to hear what they were saying while she could still talk to Phantom.

"Alright, this is the layout of the helicarrier. They're right here."

She pointed to the middle of the screen with the map, her finger directly above a red dot.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

"What about you?"

"Me? Dude, it's your new team."

"You're not a part of the Avengers," Phantom asked confused.

"Not really. Fury says I'm too much of a wild card and my slightly illegal habits can cause problems. He says I'm more of a kickass agent."

"He doesn't say that."

"No, but I'm almost sure he's thinking it," Gear winked, "Now seriously go. I'll be right here, watching and listening thanks to this beauty."

She idly tapped the bluetooth.

"My only request," she called out as Phantom headed to leave, "Is that you make a badass entrance. If you don't, you know I still have that video from when the wall in the school disappeared while you were taking a shower there!"

* * *

"When will we meet this new recruit," Hawkeye asked curiously.

The team gathered around when the twins informed them that the new recruit was on his way (curtsey of Gear calling them). Alex knew that they shouldn't tell the Avengers or SHIELD about Phantom's secret identity out of respect for the half-dead kid (even she didn't really understand that part and neither did Axel- it was a miracle if Gear understood).

"Soon," Alex answered.

At that moment, Phantom did appear where he was informed to meet them. His eyes glowed dangerously green as his body floated up through the floor. His white aura surrounded him visibly as the cloak opened to circle around his body in an eerie way.

"You called," he said, his voice echoing slightly.

_Ten to one Gear told him to do that,_ Alex thought dryly before she gave a nod of acknowledgement, putting her feet up on the table in the process.

"Yo," she and her brother said in unison.

He gave a little wave in return and floated down to them. He didn't bother taking a seat. Instead he just crossed his legs and floated a few feet off of the ground. Thor glared, and because he was sitting next to Alex, he received a slap in the back of his head.

"Sorry about Viking, here. He doesn't like ghosts."

"I am not a viking!"

"Deal with it. We can spar later. Anyway, welcome," Axel said.

"If you don't mind," Iron man said, taking his helmet off and placing it on the table, "The twins informed us that you smell only half dead instead of a full ghost. If you know the reason for that can you explain?"

Phantom nodded politely.

"My parents used to be ghost hunters, and they built a portal. It didn't work at first, but then I went to check it out. I got zapped with a lot of ectoplasm, which is what ghosts are made of. Instead of killing me it got infused with my DNA."

"Makes sense," Alex said.

Hawkeye snorted.

"You said you went inside but you're like what, fifteen? What did they do, put the on button on the inside?"

"Yes. Look, my parents were crazy smart but they had their moments."

"Besides," the twins said in unison, "We're only about five or six and you've already seen how smart we are. Gear too. So why not him?"

"I will never understand how you to can do that," Hawkeye said.

They rolled their eyes.

"Also," Black Panther said, "You were special cases. If I remember correctly you two were made my a skrull and force fed an immense amount of information."

"We are not discussing origin stories, here!" Alex said, getting a little ticked.

Hawkeye huffed.

"Even so, we already know you've been called a villain and a hero in Amity, so why should we trust you?"

"Because he's a hero, just misunderstood," Axel said.

Alex nodded in agreement.

"Look at Spider-Man," Cap said, "He's a hero but thanks to the media he's know as a menace."

"Us too," Axel said. "They think that just because we made a few mistakes and was made by an alien bent on killing you we're the bad guys. Hulk is considered a monster too, but the only time he's ever really thrown a tantrum is when he's kicking ass. And when he's doing it alone he usually goes somewhere where there isn't a lot if people, like the Arctic Circle or a desert."

"I say we give him a shot," Hulk said, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.

The twins, Cap, Tony, and Panther nodded in agreement.

"It's settled then," Alex said, clapping a hand in his shoulder, "You're in."

* * *

A little while later she and Axel were showing him around the mansion. Currently they were in the training room.

Curiosity about what was said about the twins earlier gnawed at Phantom's inside until finally, he decided to ask.

"What did you mean by mistakes you made and being made by an alien and stuff?"

The twins stopped for a moment, considering whether or not they should tell him. Finally, they gave each other a silent nod of agreement.

"Some things are better left unsaid," Axel said,

"But we'll tell you anyway," Alex finished. "Look, what T'Challa said was true. We were made by a skrull five or six years ago, trained to kill the Avengers. Seeing the irony yet?"

"Anyway," Axel said, taking over, "It was the Avengers that found us. Completely by accident too. We decided with them-"

"-It was either them or S.H.I.E.L.D.-"

"-And along the way we made a few mistakes. For instance..."

"I taught at a dojo," Alex said, her voice suddenly growing heavy, "And I-we-don't know how Ringleader found out, but she...She blew up the place, killing most of the kids. I lost my arm. Axel was at Horizon Labs at the time, and after that, he stopped going. Didn't want something like that to happen again, you know?"

"Yeah," Axel said, "But that wasn't the first time that happened, and if we told you more the story would get to long. Anyways, after we beat her and the Masters of Evil we joined the Avengers. We met Gear along the way. One of our first friends,I might add."

Phantom was silent, thinking about Gear's words. She really hadn't been kidding when she said they went to hell and back.

"I know how you feel," he said, his voice cracking slightly, "My entire family was killed by a ghost named Skulker."

The twins gave him a knowing look, and suddenly perked up.

"Well, enough about origin stories. Let's go see the jets," the twins said, walking away, leaving Phantom to follow.

* * *

"They said no more origin stories and what do they do, tell an origin story," Gear muttered to herself.

Still, she had a smile on her face as she continued to watch the twins interact with Phantom on one of her screens. On another screen, however, was something else going on. She was tracking the movements of the GiW. She even hacked into their system to know what they were planning and just what they were saying.

She munched on some hot wings from the new restaurant.

"These are delicious," Gear moaned, "Never had anything so good."

She grabbed the mic and hacked into SHIELD.

"This is _Eagle One_ to _Want To Tap That, It Happened In A Dream, _and _Eagle Two_," Gear said into a small microphone.

On the screen, she saw how confused Phantom and Axel were as Alex just sighed.

"_I hope to God that I'm Eagle Two,"_ Axel muttered under his breath.

"No such luck, _Want To Tap That,_" Gear informed, _"I__t Happened In A Dream,_ want to come down to the house? I found out something that you guys need to know."

"_Gear," _Phantom said, _"How are you speaking over the intercom when you're at the house? You know what... Never__mind. I don't want to know. Sure we can head over to the house."_

"Sorry to break it to you," Gear said with a laugh, "But you, Phantom, are _Eagle Two_ and Axel is _Want To Tap That._"

"_I guess that makes me It Happened In A Dream,"_ Alex sighed, "_Yes we'll head right over but Fury's not going to be happy if you continue on the intercom."_

"Pfft..."

"_Need I remind you,"_ Fury's voice said on the video feed over the intercom, "_That the intercom speaks all over the helicarrier."_

"No need to remind me," Gear said cheekily.

"_Oh god," _Phantom laughed, _"That means all the Avengers know you guys are It Happened In A Dream and Want To Tap That.__ This is gold! HAHA!"_

* * *

"So what is so important that you had to hack into the intercom of the helicarrier," Alex asked.

The group finally arrived at the house. Gear was sitting in the living room with a large predatory smile on her face. Axel took one look at her and got slightly flustered because of the nickname. _Well her nickname to me is It Happened In A Dream,_ Axel thought, images of the dream relayed in his mind.

_You idiot, we have a connection,_ Alex thought back at him_, __and I swear if I see those images again, I'm going to scream_.

Axel decided to not look at Alex or Gear for fear of too much embarrassment. Danny sat down at the couch and sighed as Gear held up a large plate full of food,

"_This_ is what is so important. I found out that the new place has the _best_ hot wings and steak _ever_."

Alex sighed,

"I should have known."

"Hey, nothing is as important as food," Gear said, "Except tech. Now, try it and then judge me for all I care._"_

Gear looked at Axel curiously, taking in the way he was carefully avoiding looking at her. She put the plate down and poked Axel,

"_Want To Tap That,_ you okay?"

"Dandy," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

"No thanks, not really into cannibalism," Alex said, waving her off.

Gear almost slapped herself in the forehead. She totally forgot that the twins were smiled and thanked her anyway.

"Wait." Phantom said, a confused look on his face, "Cannibalism? But you're human...Ish. how would it be cannibalism?"

"We were made with the DNA of every species of animal that has ever walked the earth. Complicated, hes, but thanks to our metabolism we can pig out on junk food all we want."

"Lucky," he muttered.

"Well, anyways, we want to test your limits tomorrow, Phantom," Axel said.

Alex nodded in agreement. Phantom paled slightly. Gear snorted.

"Can't wait to watch."

* * *

The next day Phantom was less than happy to meet the twins in the training room. They had obviously gotten bored, and as a result, there were robots strewn all around the room. Alex kicked a head with a frown.

"Stark needs his robots. Maybe we can talk to Forge instead..."

Axel elbowed Alex in the ribs and she nodded.

"I know he's here, I could smell him from the entrance. Are you ready, Phantom?"

He just shrugged.

"I guess.

Alex gave him a grin that sent shivers down his spine. It was the first time he'd ever seen her smile, and it creeped him out. She definitely looked better with the scowl.

"Then let's get started."

* * *

"I'm just gonna lay here now," Phantom said as he collapsed on the floor. Alex smirked.

"Nice work. You definitely passed our expectations. Can you stand?"

Phantom was still lying on the ground, panting his lungs out. They had done several _extreme _"training" exercises that left him more worn than ever before. Same with his suit. He shook his head and Axel picked him up bridal style.

"Relax, that was the hardest stage. You passed."

"What do you mean?"

"Hulk wanted to see how well you could smash. It looks like he approves."

Phantom lifted his head to see Hulk dropping down from his perch Hawkeye on his shoulder.

"They were there the entire time. What do you say, boys? Did he do good?" Alex said with smirk, crossing her arms over her chest. Hulk huffed.

"He smashes good."

Hawkeye sighed.

"Yeah, the kid did okay. But now he smells like the Hulk."

"At least you're not the one carrying him," Axel said.

Alex laughed slightly and took Phantom out of his arms and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Happy now?"

He nodded slightly, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Good. Now for crying out loud, make a move on Gear already."

Axel flushed and glared while Phantom weakly laughed.

"At least now the name makes sense," he laughed as they staggered out.

"Tomorrow we're getting you a cooler uniform," Alex said. "The HAZMAT suit doesn't look good on anybody. Neirger does spandex for that matter. The X-Men need a make over too."


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Third Person:**

"Dude, nice threads," Gear said as he headed out the door to help the twins in a battle against the Gryphon. He thanked her and ran out the door, directly behind the twins.

The twins had helped him pick out a new outfit. He was wearing something a lot similar than them, and it was way more comfy than the pinchy HAZMAT suit he used to wear. Now he wore a white shirt and belt with black cargo jeans and black combat boots that had white laces. He also had a black cloak with an elaborate white design that the twins made themselves. Since Axel was better at sewing than Alex, he made the cloak itself. Alex made the green DP that held it together. Somehow she even got it to glow.

"Gryphon," Animal/Alex said, "Has strength, speed, agility, flight, and teeth and claws that can tear you to shreds. Think you're up for it?"

"That sounds like a walk in the park compared to the training we did yesterday," he said.

They laughed, and Animal jumped up. Phantom caught her and launched her at the beast. She was like a human bullet.

She knocked the beast to his side and landed gracefully next to Phantom, who was shooting ice at him. Creature/Axel dodged the ice as he ran towards the hybrid and clasped his head in between his legs, forcing his face into the ground.

"Ice the wings!" Animal said as she went for the head.

He nodded and did as he was told. After that, the twins held the paws together so he could freeze them, making a make shift gryphon-cuffs. She high fived Phantom and Creature as she picked up the upper half while Creature picked up the lower half.

"Why do I always get the ass?" He said. Animal rolled her eyes and spread her wings.

"Who cares. Let's just get him to the Baxter Building."

"What's at the Baxter Building?" Phantom asked. The twins smirked.

"You'll see."

* * *

"Nice uh...Prison," Phantom said as they walked through the halls of 42 after putting Gryphon away.

"I know right," Animal said. "We've designed half of the cells in here, depending on which villain or skill set. That way there's less of a chance of them breaking free."

"Sweet."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were in one of the cells."

He whirled around to find a green lady that was dressed like a Ringmaster in a circus, complete with black hair, yellow eyes, and a black mask. Animal and Creature growled in response.

"Can it, Ringleader," Creature said. Phantom's eyes widened.

_So this is the person...er...Thing...that made them. Weird._

"Exactly why you're in there," Animal spat, her growl getting deeper.

It was a weird and extremely threatening sound. It sounded like a bunch of wild animals that were really pissed off and about to attack. At that thought it suddenly made sense.

"You killed hundreds, and tried to kill the Avengers and us. You deserve worse than that,"she continued.

"It's to good for you," Creature agreed.

"You filthy brats," Ringleader said, "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be alive, and all of those worthless people you've saved would be dead as well."

"That doesn't make you a hero or a saint. And fyi, people are the least worthless specimens in the entire world. If anyone is worthless it's you," they said in unison.

Axel turned to Phantom as Alex stalked off.

"Come on. This trip just took a turn for the worse."

He nodded and they ran and floated to catch up with Alex.

"It takes a lot to piss me off but when it comes to her," Alex said, "I want to rip her throat out the second I see her. With extreme prejudice."

Phantom gulped, and mentally reminded himself not to get on her bad side. Or Axel's for that matter.

* * *

"What's got you in a weird mood?" Gear asked when he returned.

He shrugged and glanced over at the twins. Alex was bent over a piece of tech, muttering to herself, while Axel was occupying himself with a book.

"We went to 42," he said.

Gear paled slightly, knowing exactly why they were so pissed.

"Just let them be. They'll cool down soon enough. Besides, I'm coming to school with you tomorrow, so maybe that'll brighten things up a little bit "

He nodded, still unsure if he should try and comfort them or take Gear's advice and just leave them be.

"I'm gonna go get some food," he decided, and flew off at one of his fastest speeds, making Axel's pages whirl around and Alex's screws and bolts go everywhere. They didn't even flinch, and Gear whistled.

"Wow, they must really be pissed if they didn't even react to that," she said under her breath.

Shaking her head, Gear went over to sit beside Axel as she worked on her bracelet. She tinkered with it as her thoughts tended to drift towards the mutant beside her. _Dang his nickname is Wanna Tap That for a reason,_ Gear thought as she bit her lip.

Axel looked up briefly and Gear coughed nervously as she lightly blushed. Alex looked up and gave a small smirk before she returned to her work. _Man it's only a matter of time before those two get together._

* * *

The next day was a school day. As a result, Gear found herself being the subject to many stares as she walked through the halls. _At least the twins have yet to see me._ Danny didn't really wish to go to school because he was being ass about not getting enough sleep. Normally, Gear would agree and even ditch with him, however today was the one day the school cafeteria served some really good food. Not just food- _steaks_. For that, she didn't want to ditch and she wanted Danny to appreciate the steaks so she dragged him along. However, he only agreed to it if he got to choose her outfit for the day- a decision that she would regret if not for the fact that food was involved.

Under normal circumstances, there would no way she would be caught dead in a dress, but again- _steaks are involved._ The dress was the only one that she even owned so she was stuck with it. It was black and sleeveless, but the back of it was revealed. The back was only covered by small purple ribbons that criss-crossed across her back. It went mid-thigh and if the school wasn't so laid back about clothing, she would have been sent home. Her normal metallic belt laid loose on her hips. Somehow, Danny convinced her to go all the way- going as far as curling her hair, but she refused makeup (there was an accident with the mascara brush that ended in a poked eye- ironically enough, it wasn't her eye). On her feet were her normal combat boots- she drew the line at heels.

Every step she took, she was aware of lustful gazes along with glares of jealously. Occasionally, she heard a slap along with a girlfriend's remark about not staring. _Screw this, dresses make me feel empowered,_ Gear realized, _can't fight at all but I can feel the power..._

During lunch, Danny was still laughing his butt off at her. She put her hand on her hip.

"Haha," she said sarcastically, "You think you're hot shit, Danny dude."

"Why yes, yes I do," Danny smirked before laughing again, "you in a dress! Never thought I'd see the day!"

She stuck out her tongue only to hear a sharp intake of breath from behind her. She turned only to see the twins. Alex was laughing her butt off as Axel was just staring at her- more so, he was staring at the different parts_ of _her. She smirked,

"Like what you see? Better take a picture or shut your jaw."

Alex raised her hand to stop Axel from reaching for his phone to indeed take a picture.

"I swear," Alex grumbled, "I'm getting way too many images from you enough as it is."

Axel still continued to stare, willing himself to relax and more so, willing his nose to not bleed. It didn't help that Gear was being her usual slightly flirtatious self, which sent another wave of very inappropriate images through his head. He willed the blood flow to go back to his brain.

_For crying out loud,_ Alex thought, _Just ask her out already! I don't know how much more I can take of this!_

Alex groaned and rubbed her temple.

"What's wrong," Danny asked.

"The images going through this pervert's head," she said, jabbing a thumb at Axel.

At his confused look she sighed.

"We have this little mental link up and I swear, that's all you're really gonna know."

Gear laughed and took a huge bite of steak, a bit of her ego swelled with pride. _Hell yeah this dress is powerful_. When Axel looked towards her, she winked, which sent yet another wave of images through his head.

"Gear, stop encouraging him," Alex snapped.

"Hey, it's his mind," Gear defended herself.

Alex just sighed, a part of her knowing that Gear wasn't just doing it because it was her nature to flirt. She was doing it because Gear liked Axel therefore she felt pride that he was getting such images of her. Though poor Axel would never live it down.

"So do you have anything planned for me later today?" Danny asked, more than eager to change the subject. Alex and Axel snorted.

"Please, we only do stuff like that if we're bored. But us two are on patrol tonight. If you wanna tag along feel free to do so. It always gets kind of irritating with the images that are in his head."

"I can't help it, I'm a dude!" Axel whined in protest which made Gear just laugh.

Alex ignored him.

"Think you're up to it?"

Danny shrugged.

"Sure, I'm in."

"Good, because J Jonah Loudmouth caught wind of you and is trying to convince the populace you're a menace like Spidey. We're going to...Persuade them otherwise."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Sweet," Gear said as she licked her lips.

She continued to lick her lips, eager to get any of the food off, however since her lips were clean (to her disappointment), she was just there licking her pink subtle lips which sent Axel into another wave of hormones. Alex snapped,

"Get that mind under control!"

* * *

"Why don't you just ask her out already!?" Animal screamed.

It was almost midnight so the twins and Phantom were on patrol, and Axel couldn't get Gear off of his mind. He was sure his sister screamed the question so loud a few people on the ground could hear her.

"If you like Gear then just do it," Phantom said. Alex nodded in agreement.

"Seriously, dude. It's kinda obvious she likes you too."

"Do you have any proof? She's flirty with everyone," Axel protested.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"That's true, but she's more flirty with you than anyone else."

"She's got a good point, man," Phantom said. Axel huffed.

"Fine, just...Not tonight or tomorrow."

Alex smirked.

"The great Creature. Able to fly, kick ass, and spars with the Hulk, still can't ask a girl out."

Axel shoved her off of their ledge and she laughed the entire way down. She spread her wings about twenty feet above the populace of New York and pulled up sharply so she didn't run into any people or cars or street lamps. When she returned to the boys she was still laughing slightly.

"Relax, it's your confession to make, not mine," she said, "My lips are sealed."

* * *

When they got he around two in the morning they found Hulk watching _Godzilla. _Alex hopped over the back of the couch and landed on one of Hulk's shoulders, leaning down to grab some popcorn. Luckily, Hulk was to into the movie. Axel quickly took the other shoulder, while Phantom just sat on the floor.

"Shouldn't you sleep?" Axel asked Phantom. He shrugged.

"You guys aren't going to bed."

"Yeah, well, we don't really like sleeping. Alex more than me, but still."

Alex nodded and crossed one leg over the other, using Hulk's head as an arm rest.

"Why not?"

"Dude, we told you our origin story. Try living through that and then sleeping. It's not fun, healthy, or refreshing."

"Yeah," Axel agreed, "It's like getting stabbed in the face over and over-"

"-Or losing a limb-"

"-Or basically anything just bad and extremely painful."

Phantom nodded, taking that into consideration.

"Well okay then. Is this on DVD or DVR?"

"DVR, we can watch it tomorrow if we have a chance," the twins said.

"Shut your mouths, the movie is getting good," Hulk huffed.

The twins shrugged and stole more popcorn while Phantom dragged his feet to bed.


	11. Chapter 10

**Authors' Note:  
By the way, the mistake in the summary has been fixed so it matches the story. That was my fault.  
~DorkyUke (CWA)**

**Enjoy the story! Please review!  
~The Nerdlings (both of us)**

**Chapter 10:**

**Third Person:**

Gear typed away at her computers, eyes narrowed slightly. According to her sources, the Guys In White were in New York City, having spotted the infamous Phantom. She was hoping that they may have more time to work on Phantom's reputation, but it has only been a single week since he joined the Avengers. A single week since she wore that dress and yet that memory was etched into her mind forever and she couldn't get rid of it.

She shook her head. There was much more important things to think about besides her crush on Axel and just how she affected him with that dress on- granted, it was a rather _good_ memory. She wondered if she should tell him just about what images have entered her mind of him. She smirked to herself before shaking her head again, _nope- gotta think of something else, anything else. Alex? No good- it happened in a dream. Danny? He is my little brother figure so no, but he reminds me of Axel which leads my mind back to Axel. Think... NAKED GRANDMA!_

She gagged slightly at that image, at least the bad images of Axel were gone. She turned her attention back to the screen and grabbed her cell phone to call Axel.

"Eagle One to _Wanna Tap That_, I have something important to say."

_"Do you really have to call me that?"_

"Yes, yes I do. Now as I was saying, I have something important to say."

"_If it's anything food related, we're not falling for that again and we are vegans."_

Gear smirked to herself,

"Actually, the important thing is that I'm wearing a purple thong."

Hearing his sharp intake of breath and imagine his face was worth it. She looked at the screen in the top right- the camera feed showing him flying through the air. He fell down a bit and finally, he hit the ground with a thud with a bleeding nose (sadly the bloody nose was not from the fall). Alex picked up the phone and her voice came on,

"_Mind explaining to me why my twin is thinking of more images and now has a bloody nose?"_

"He asked for it."

_"He asked for you to have phone sex?"_

Gear just laughed,

"Don't use that term if you don't know what it means_, anyway, _I do have something important to say- The GiW are in New York City. Tell Phantom- but tell him gently 'cause he'll most likely freak out."

"_Noted. And Gear?"_

"Yes, _It Happened in a Dream?"_

_"Stop making my other half all derpy. It's really annoying-and gross."_

"Never."

She heard the dial tone as Alex hung up and smirked.

* * *

After Alex hung up the phone she put it in her pocket and started dragging a now bloody Axel by his hair, purposely thinking of gay porn him out of his trance.

She watched with satisfaction as his face turned from yearning to disgust in a matter of seconds.

"You awake now, sweetie?" She asked mockingly.

He glared and pulled hos head out of her hand.

"Pervert," she said as Axel tried getting the blood out of his fur. "What did she say to you anyway?"

If Axel didn't have fur she would have seen him blush.

"N-nothing," he stuttered.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, we got trouble."

"Do tell."

"GiW are in New York and they're after our friendly neighborhood Phantom."

Axel cursed.

"We're on our way to tell him. Except there's one problem."

"Other than the GiW?"

"Gear said tell him gently."

Axel snorted.

"I don't think either of us can be gentle when it comes o stuff like that. He's just gonna have to live with it."

"Yup."

They both headed to where they knew Phantom was- on the roof of the pizza building. Sure enough, he was sitting criss-cross mid air while eating pizza. Beside him was a large pizza. They caught him in the middle of a bite.

"Oh hey," he said sheepishly, "it's vegan pizza if you want some. I wanted to try something different."

"Yeah sure, whatever," Alex said, "We need to talk."

"About what? Cause if it's about Axel and Gear's love life, I really don't want to know judging by his bloody nose."

"The Guys in White are in New York City."

With that they learned something knew- ghosts _could_ faint.

* * *

_Now that I think about it,_ Gear thought, _I don't think Alex and Axel can do gentle. _

Either way, there she sat still tracking the Guys in White on her screens while watching Danny faint through the security camera. That had to be one of the many things she could do that were helpful. She was watching the live feed, but should anyone check that camera, they would be getting a looped video of an empty building top.

She took a large bite of her all meat pizza (the major different between her and Axel) as she typed away, the pizza slice handing out of her mouth.

"'ota' 'et'em," she tried to say to herself, _Gotta get them._

So that was what she did. She worked out the numbers in her head easily enough to figure out the estimated number of hours/days that they had until the Guys In White would try something and she had to say-

Time was not on their side.

* * *

"Huh," Alex said, throwing Phantom over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Since he's a ghost and all you wouldn't really expect him to faint."

Axel nodded and jumped off of the building with Alex, flying as fast as they could with the unconscious Phantom in their hands.

They both felt the same way about the situation. They had made a new friend, and he was family to them now. If anything happened they didn't know if the Avengers could stop them from ripping a few throats out.

They knew how cruel the world-and people-could be. They would fight tooth and claw to protect anybody-even the villains if it meant that they lived instead of died. They had spent the majority of their lives stuck in a hole in the ground learning how to kill. They would use those skills to help and protect people. Whether or not they died doing it.

When they got to Avengers HQ, Phantom was still unconscious, and Steve was arguing with Tony about technology. They stopped the instant they flew in.

"What's wrong? What happened to him?" Tony asked.

"He fainted," Axel said as Alex set him down on the couch.

"Why?" Steve asked, itching for his shield. He felt naked without it.

"The Guys in White," Alex filled in.

"They're ghost hunters that capture and or kill."

"And as you can see, Phantom is terrified."

Tony nor Steve knew what to make of this new information. Only that they had to protect Phantom. He was so young, and their newest recruit. To them not only was he a hero, but he was also a scared teenager hiding behind a mask of bravery.

They were knocked out of their thoughts as Axel put Phantom on the ground and Alex poured a bucket of icy water on his face. Phantom sputtered and coughed as he sat up.

"Hey there, sunshine. Welcome back to the world of the living," Alex said.

"Time to make a plan," Axel stated. Phantom groaned.

"It's a nightmare come to life."

Alex put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We know what it's like, so don't sweat. Don't think of it. Obviously you can't go outside. No pizza parlors, school, gym, Gear's house, anything. You stay in this building."

Phantom nodded as Axel continued.

"Also, you don't have to, but if they track you by your ectoplasmic signature, I suggest you power down."

Phantom paled a little more.

"Like he said, you don't have to," Steve said.

"But it would be a smart idea," Tony finished. He nodded, but didn't transform.

"We'll build some shields around the fortress just in case they find you and decide to get a little pushy and physical."

"But what if-" Phantom started, but was cut off.

"-We're gonna protect you one way or another, and if we can't, well, there's gonna be hell. If we can't protect or friends, our _family, _then you can be damned sure we'll avenge them. Either way, we're not going down without a fight."

Phantom was silent for a moment, think about the depth of her words. It was painfully obvious that the others were all in a silent agreement that seemed to scream.

"Thanks," he said. They nodded.

"Kid, it's what we do. Especially if it's our own kin, by blood or not," Axel said, "Because sometimes-a lot of times-your chosen family is or can be better than your blood family. The only reason we'll give up is if we die trying to help. Trying to protect."

"To avenge," Tony said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"You're not in this alone. You never will be. Not as long as you have us."

"And you will always, _always, _have us."


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

**Third Person:**

Gear ran a hand through her hair, a bit annoyed. The Guys In White knew about Gear helping Phantom- she wasn't exactly subtle when she showed up for battle, but they had no idea she as Quam Tu or the one hacking into their systems. Due to that, Phantom was concerned that they may attack Gear in order to get to him. _So it's Double D's fault that I'm being body guarded by Axel and several SHIELD agents. _

"I can take care of myself, thanks," Gear said as she spun around in her wheely chair.

She refused to go to the helicarrier, insisting that their tech was 'too weak' to do her job. Axel, however, insisted on watching over her, which Alex agreed to only because she knew of his feelings towards the techie. The techie in question was now typing wildly.

"I know you can, but we're cautious.." Axel commented, "...Wow you look so different- Like seeing you in your natural element. You're never so focused."

"When it's important, I'm focused," Gear said, "But there's only so focused I can be with ADHD, why do you think I have so many screens with different things."

"So you didn't think that Steve's surprise party was important?"

Of course he as inferring to the even when she showed up, gave a gift, and then decided that beating Tony in a battle of _Hungry Hungry Hippo_ was more important.

"Well, I showed up and brought a gift, didn't I," Gear retorted with a snort, "And I don't know why _you_ chose to guard me."

She turned around and jabbed a thumb at the other agents,

"These guys, I get, but _you_. You're more valuable protecting Phantom."

"Am I? He can take care of himself and he has the Avengers. I'd rather stay here and protect you."

Gear winked,

"I'm flattered, Winged Prince, but I can take care of myself just fine."

The nickname caught him off guard ever so slightly,

"Winged Prince?"

"You have the wings and in your human form you have the hair for it. Or would you rather still be called _Wanna Tap That?"_

A few of the agents snickered, but covered it quickly. Axel just smirked,

"How about I be Winged Prince while you are _Wanna Tap That?"_

"Why, Axel," Gear said, feigning surprise, "Are you _flirting_ with me?"

"That's what is seems like doesn't it," Axel said a bit sheepishly.

"Now, don't turn sheepish on me, continue to flirt to your hearts fulfilled, it's... interesting," Gear said as she looked him up and down with a wink,

"But I still say you are _Wanna Tap That,_ hotshot."

* * *

Alex stood near Phantom as he paced in mid-air, getting more annoyed by the second. It made sense that Axel was with Gear but did he really have to turn all horny and have porn running through his mind as well?

She sighed and shook her head, giving Axel some more gay porn, but instead of a _2 girls 1 Cup _thing, it was she and Gear doing the frick-frack in front of him. That only made the thoughts much worse. Finally, she just sent thoughts and images of a naked grandma. After that, the porno thoughts from Axel stopped, and Alex couldn't help but feel the satisfaction from her silent victory.

All of a sudden, the air seemed off, and it wasn't just because Phantom was using some sort of ice breath to cool down. It was...Bad, and evil. Every hair on her body stood up, and she started to growl, crouching down in her attack stance. She preferred all fours instead of just two legs.

A second later, an explosion threw Alex and Phantom back against the wall. Phantom crashed to the floor while Alex went almost straight through the marble walls, embedding herself in it. She groaned and launched herself at the dude in a white suit who was advancing towards Phantom.

"Don't you touch him!" She yelled, literally grabbing him and throwing him across the room.

More filed in, and Alex really wished the other Avengers weren't on their short missions. But all she had to do was stall until they got here, so that made it a little better. But judging from their numbers, she had rising doubts about how long she could hold them off. She had immense strength, sure, but she had never gone against so many people before. There had to be at least a hundred now, all swarming in like mosquitoes.

She hissed, barring her fangs and extending her claws, stepping in front of the half conscious Phantom protectively. A low, deep growl escaped her throat as she slashed at the people trying to get closer. She had never seen so much white.

It wasn't long before she was under a dog pile of about half their men, being electrocuted repeatedly in the process. Her arms were pinned to the ground and her back at awkward angles so she couldn't move them. All she could do was watch helplessly as they dragged Phantom away as red creeped at the edges of her vision. She grit her teeth and clenched her fists.

Using her legs, she got onto her knees, raising the pile of people up a few inches.

"You're...Not...Gonna...Hurt him," she strained out. One of the agents that had dragged Phantom away smirked and walked over to her.

"We're gonna do every unimaginable thing in the name of science to that thing. He's a ghost, not a human. They're all out to kill you."

Then he pointed his glowing green and white gun at Alex's face and pulled the trigger.

As she was slowly sent into a wave of darkness, she became aware of two things. The weight lifting off of her now aching body, and the fact that she had failed Phantom.

* * *

Axel tensed- the thoughts from Alex were cut off. Her last thought being that she had failed. Gear looked over briefly,

"Axel? You okay?"

Her usual nonchalant voice was laced with so much concern, not to mention that she called him Axel instead of some nickname like she usually did.

"Something is wrong. I think they were attacked."

Gear jumped up from her seat, her purple hair going upwards with the motion before settling,

"What," she said, her voice hard as steel, "You said that the Avengers were there."

"The Avengers were on a short mission."

"What could be more important than protecting one of their own," Gear hissed.

Axel narrowed his eyes slightly. It was the first time he saw Gear more than annoyed- she was getting angry. She wasn't pissed, _yet_ and according to Danny, when she was pissed she was scary. Though her voice was so cold, so hard that he barely recognized it as hers.

"Look," Gear continued, "We don't have time for this! We have to get back now."

Axel nodded. They went up to the roof as the agents took the vans. Axel spread out his wings. Despite the situation, he couldn't help it. He held out his hand, planning to carry Gear as he flew,

"So, do you trust me?"

"Yes, but I have my own ride."

She smirked, previous anger still there but fading, and pressed a button on her belt. A small cube fell out and it shifted into her hover board. She jumped on,

"But thanks for the offer!"

* * *

When they got there they found a very stressed Cap and Tony there, trying to wake Alex up. She just groaned as her head rolled to the side. Axel cursed under his breath as the rest of the heroes flew in.

"What happened?" Gear said as she jumped off of her board. The others shrugged.

"We don't know. The cameras were wiped out in the blast. The only footage there is is Alex getting ready for a fight," Iron Man explained. Gear fumed slightly.

"You were all supposed to be here protecting him!" She yelled.

Axel would have tried to comfort her, but she was scary enough as it is. She didn't need him butting in.

"I want to know where you all were because it's obvious this happened a few minutes ago!"

"We can't just drop everything for one kid that-fyi-has super powers," Hawkeye said. "We were off doing what we do best. We were saving lives and-"

"-I don't care! I mean, I do but I don't! He's like a brother to me, and some of the only family I have left. I can't lose him too."

"We're gonna get him back one way or the other. And it's going to involve lots of smashing," Axel said, trying to sooth things over.

Taking a risk, he put a hand on her shoulder and she relaxed into his touch slightly, showing just how much she trusted him- Gear didn't do the mushy, feely shit.

Just then Alex coughed and groaned, rolling over to her stomach. With great effort she managed to get on her hands and knees, refusing to look anyone but Gear in the eye.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't save him in time."

She looked completely torn up. Her clothes were ripped and some of her fur was singed. She had several cuts and bruises, and looked at Gear with so much pain she didn't even bother putting her bangs over her blind eye, which they could see was clearly swollen shut.

"It's not your fault. At least you were here."

Alex didn't say anything. She felt like crap. No...she felt worse than crap. She felt like nothing. She had made a promise, and she couldn't keep it. Now another innocent person might die because she was to slow. She coughed again as Ms. Marvel and the Vision helped her to her feet.

"How many were there?" Tony asked.

She sighed and rubbed the back of her throbbing head.

"A hundred, maybe more. It's a rough estimate. They obviously planned this through pretty carefully."

"Looks like they're stepping up their game," Gear said. "Well, I guess...Avengers Assemble."

* * *

When Phantom woke up, he found himself in some type of lab. He was strapped down to some sort of operation table. He struggled against the straps, ignoring the sharp pain that came from his torso. He couldn't get free, the straps were ectolaced and therefore, _ghost proof._ He was stuck.

"Good, you're awake," Agent O said with a sinister smile, "Now we can get started with the _experiments..."_


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Third Person:**

Gear was fidgety and she was_ not_ happy. She realized that Danny wouldn't be able to get out their clutches without help- his most powerful attack was the ghostly wail and he wouldn't do that with the GiW. Aside from the fact it could kill humans, it drains power and he might revert back to human- he never told the Avengers at first but they might expect him to use it all the time and he didn't want to risk turning human.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Axel told Gear as she followed everyone into the jet.

"Please enlighten me on why you think I shouldn't come."

"Because these guys were strong enough to take Alex down, and she has the training _and _super strength. You don't have either of those."

"But I have my big brain."

"And sometimes brains just aren't enough. I just don't want to getting hurt."

Gear sighed.

"Look, I know you're worried about me, and thanks. But I have to do this. He's like my little brother, I can't just stand by and watch as more of my family gets hurt."

Axel sighed, knowing he would never change her mind. Plus, they were on a short time limit, which meant they had to move faster than Quicksilver.

"Fine, just don't die, okay?"

"It's a done deal."

Alex's grip tightened on her knees. She felt like a failure. And if he died, it would be her fault. No matter what the Avengers code was, she was out for blood this night. Revenge had nothing to do with it. She didn't give a shit whether or not she got hurt. She only cared about her friends getting hurt because if they died, she didn't know what she would do. She was completely lost without them and they without her. Also, she just couldn't handle losing more of the people she cared about. Phantom was family now. She had become for this rescue mission she found herself asking if they were almost there every few agonizingly long minutes that passed.

Everyone could practically feel the tension oozing out of the twins and Gear. After all, they had become the closest to Phantom. Even Thor felt worried.

"Do not fret. It takes the mind off of the main objective," he said, "I may have my quarrels with him but he is a worthy ally, and has gained my respect. I too, am eager to, how you say, roll the heads of the enemies."

They couldn't help but smirk at Thor's misuse of the term 'making heads roll.' It was amusing to see their Asgardian friend try and cheer them up.

"The viking is right," Alex said. "What's done has been done but we still have some asses to kick. I swear, next time I see them I'm going to bitch slap them so hard not even Google will be able to find them."

Gear whistled, feeling only slightly better at how determined her comrades were.

"Look alive, everyone," Captain America said, "We're here."

* * *

It was only a matter of minutes for them to get in. Taking out the guards and security cameras were easy enough. Now all they needed to do was find Phantom in the White Labyrinth.

"This way," the twins said, sniffing the air and leading the band of heroes to their imprisoned friend. All of a sudden there was a sound that resembled a dying animal. It was filled with pain and torture.

"It's Phantom," the twins hissed, their everything coiling and uncoiling in anger as they ran towards them.

"Wait, we need a plan!" Cap said, but he was ignored as they soon heard sounds of battle.

"You little shits," one of them said, "We should have just taken you too."

"Well too fucking bad," Alex said in a low threatening tone that made the guy pale. He aimed his gun at her, and she ran up and held it down with one hand, punching him with her other. She didn't even wince as she felt his jaw break beneath her punch.

Axel was doing just as well, dodging and swerving and just kicking ass in general. He watched as Animal took care of the scientist's bard before leaning over the table, vomiting, and started to sew Phantom up again. Axel's eyes flashed with anger, and he pushed himself to go faster, punch harder, jump higher. That was, until he heard a scream of pain behind him. He whirled around to find that Gear had taken a shot to the stomach and had fallen to the ground, paling by the second as she lost a good amount of blood.

Instantly he was next to her, picking her up bridal style and running to the jet, letting his wings give him a little more speed.

"You're gonna be okay," he said as he laid her down on the infirmary table that came out of the wall.

"No I won't. Not until Danny is safe and well, and I can't just lay here! You have to take me ba-"

She was cut off by Axel smashing his busted lips against her perfect ones. He broke it off a second alter.

"You're staying here. You've lost a lot of blood as it is, you don't need to lose anymore. What good are you to anyone if you're dead?"

Gear nodded slowly and sank back onto the table as Axel patched her up with expert hands.

* * *

Alex was on the verge of panicking. She had even thrown up at the sight of Phantom's insides. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were squeezed shut in pain, and he was dripping with sweat.

"It's gonna be okay," she kept saying, hoping to Odin that those words would soon come true, "You're gonna be okay. We're here for you. Just a couple more stitches, you're doing great."

Phantom coughed, and much to her dismay, he coughed up a bit of his own glowing green blood. She cursed under her breath.

"I swear if you die all the way on me I will resurrect your ass and kill you myself, do you hear me?"

He made sort of a grunting noise and she almost snarled as she effortlessly pulled his restraints off. She didn't want to hear his painful grunts of rejection as she pulled him off the bed and sprinted out the door with him.

"I got him, let's go!" She called. Soon they were all back in the jet and flying off as fast as they could.

Alex placed Phantom on the second retractable table the came from the wall and put a breathing mask on his face. Judging from his clothes he had lost a good amount of blood, and was pushed near his limits.

"Damn it all. Damn them, damn the government. Damn them all," she muttered as she continued to patch Phantom up. Axel doing the same to Gear.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

**Third Person:**

The next day, things have died down ever so slightly. The Avengers were busting their butts trying to take down the Guys in White (legally and physically) simply because Gear ordered them too- she scared them. Fury was taking the more legal route in taking them down. Meanwhile, Gear was still ordered to strict bed rest and to rest up, Danny was still passed out, Axel had yet to visit Gear again after kissing her and fixing her up (leaving things awkward on both ends), and Alex was still beating herself up at 'failing.'

Alex sat on one of the hospital beds with her head in her hands as she growled slightly. She wanted to go back to fight- but she wanted to stay longer to keep an eye on Danny and Gear, both of whom were still pretty injured. She looked over to Danny, who was asleep on the bed. He had yet to wake up. His torso was stitched up and bandages covered his midsection, arms, and a few other places.

"I failed," Alex whispered again with a far-away look in her eyes before she turned to Gear.

Gear didn't seem to notice Alex at all as Alex smirked. She knew all about the kiss- mostly due to Axel constantly thinking about the kiss and a lot of other things that Alex didn't really want to know.

_"You really should make a move on her," _She thought to her twin.

_"I think she's mad at me though. I don't want to upset her or worse, for her to turn me into a fling."_

_"She cares too much about you to make it a fling, you know that."_

_"But it's still Gear," _Axel thought, "_She's flirty- she doesn't do commitment." _

_"Well do you love her," _Alex asked.

_"Well not now, but I really like her and care about her."_

_"Then there you go- problem solved. Don't tell her you love her and she'll be fine."_

_"But what if one day I do love her? She'll just run away."_

_"And so," _Alex thought,_ "that's when you chase after her, you idiot. Yeah she'll be scared as hell- she hates love and doesn't really believe in it so I can't tell you how it will end, but she sure as hell believes in attraction and caring and she sure as hell is attracted to and cares about you, dumbass."_

Gear sat on the bed with a thoughtful expression on her face, not paying attention to anything around her. She wasn't sure why Axel was avoiding her unless he regretted the kiss, which in that case, she was offended. She cared about him and liked him- she knew that much. She liked him enough that she wanted to do so not so innocent things with him and she cared about him enough to actually worry about him more than a friend should. Either way, a light bulb went off in her head. She had the perfect way to get his attention and all it required was a quick trip to the mall and for that she required a shopping buddy. She smirked. She knew just who to ask.

"I'm sorry."

Gear turned her head towards Alex, who stood up and headed towards the door.

"You don't have to apologize. Danny and I are alive thanks to you."

Alex glanced at Gear for a moment, and gave a barely noticeable nod before leaving. Over the past couple of nights she'd been thinking. Thinking about what she had been so prepared to do without even flinching. She was willing to kill. Yeah, they weren't all that innocent, and they almost killed her friend, but wasn't she supposed to feel disgusted about the thought of doing something like that? Wasn't shes supposed to be the one that saved people instead of killing them?

She shook her head, realizing she had more than just one fear. Now she had two.

She was afraid of the things in her head.

She couldn't help but think like that. Axel too. It was just the way their brains were hardwired. They were made for the sole purpose of killing the Avengers, and the thoughts of the best ways of taking them down _permanently _drove her practically bonkers. In fact, if it hadn't been for the fact that she didn't go through hell alone, she probably would have. She depended on Axel more than she thought she did. He was her tether to reality.

Axel understood Alex better than anyone, and he definitely shared the same thoughts about feeling peace at the thought of killing.

_"Hey, you sure you're okay? Your thoughts have been all over the place," _ Axel thought. She sighed.

_"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...I'm just at a loss on what to do now. We saved the day, and we saved Danny and Gear."_

_"And..?."_

_"I just...Why do I feel like crap then? Do you think it's because I'm going against my original 'programming?'"_

_"Alex, you're not a robot."_

_"I can name five people at the top of my head that will beg to differ."_

_"Hardy har har. Look, if you really want to take your mind off of it and her_ _then just go shopping with Gear. She's going later today I think."_

_"How do you know? You haven't seen her since you kissed her."_

_"Jan."_

_"Oh. Well, I do need a few tools. I guess I could go with them. Fracking Tony keeps stealing my monkey wrench and then never giving it back."_

_"That asshole!"_

_"I know right! Well anyways, Odin knows I'm not sleeping tonight. Again. So uh...Thanks...I guess."_

* * *

Axel was a little more than surprised at Alex. She never said thanks. Well, not until they met the Avengers. It had always been a given.

_"No problem. Just make sure Jan doesn't kill anyone over shoes like last time. That was ugly."_

_"You're telling me. Oh, and Axel?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Make a move already."_

_"No promises. Now go do that girl thing."_

_"...Help."_

_"Ha, no way. See ya."_

She didn't reply after that, but he was okay with it. She was after all Alex. But one thought really made him unsettled, and he had to admit that some part of him had been expecting it for a while. Alex being afraid of her own mind. In countless ways he could see why. They hadn't just gone through hell, they were born in it. If he had the chance to switch lives with anyone else on the team or otherwise, he would instantly decline. It wasn't that he didn't want a better life, he just didn't want them getting hurt the way he and Alex had.

He sighed and made his way to the infirmary. He was extremely nervous about telling Gear he more than friend liked her. But, he had to admit that Alex was right. He had to do this. Otherwise it would eat him from the inside out.

"Hey, Gear," he said nervously.

To his disappointment, she was already gone.

* * *

Gear rubbed her hands in an evil manor, which didn't help with her wicked grin. Carol almost regretted agreeing to the shopping trip just because of that glint in Gear's eyes. Janet (Jan) just arrived at the scene, carrying multiple bags. The three women were having a great time at the mall- Jan had just split away from the group for a while when she spotted a sale.

"I got some awesome shoes," Jan said, oblivious to Gear's somewhat evil look at the shop window, "And I got some things for you too, Gear!"

At the mention of her name, Gear's head snapped away from the shop window with brightly shining eyes. Yes, she was a rather tough girl with a mouth on her and she hated dresses (though the plan does count on getting one), she did love to shop- whether it would be for parts for a machine or clothes. Granted, she usually never wore anything different than her normal outfit, it was the point of the matter.

"What did you get," Gear asked eagerly as she nosed through the bags.

Jan stood back a bit and looked through the bags before finally, she handed Gear two of the many bags,

"Here you go!"

Gear looked through the bags with a smile on her face- she knew she choose the right people to shop with (Carol had gotten her a cool belt and most importantly, she was the one who offered to pay for the many food court trips). Inside the bag she found various things ranging from a nice pair of combat boots to earrings to shorts and skirts to shirts. Though one piece of fabric caught her eye. She took it out of the bag. It was a small black dress that smaller than the one that Gear had worn to school. The fabric cinched at the waist, sure to show her figure. It would end just below the butt. The neckline was a deep-v neck. The sides of the dress were nonexistent with only lace holding the front and back of the dress together. Jan smiled,

"It looked like it would fit you and you did say you wanted to get Axel's attention."

"Perfect," Gear said with a devilish grin.

"I still say if he doesn't like you for you, it's not worth it," Carol chimed.

"He's been ignoring me," Gear pointed out, "So I'm going to do my best in making sure he regrets ignoring me- Honestly, this is my tame plan when you think about it."

Both of the women thought to the time that Gear had made people's lives living hell after they did something to her- the poor businessman who hit on her (he ended up with an embarrassing video appearing on the screen at his meeting), the girl who posted that video of Gear (she ended up getting her own even worse video posted of her having sex with another guy behind her parents' backs- they weren't happy with that), and that guy she dated that cheated on her (that was such horrible payback that the women winced just thinking about it). They nodded in agreement with Gear.

The technical girl put the dress back and looked back to the shop window,

"Now just one more stop- I need some new girly things."

She almost shivered in disgust at the word girly, but it would be the ultimate way of getting Axel back. Carol declined in joining her, but instead offered to take their many bags to Gear's house for her while Jan and her would finish shopping. Gear accepted, handed her the bags and finally, Jan and her ran into the store.

"Gear, this will fit you perfectly," Jan declared as she held up a pair of black lacy undergarments.

"Add it to the pile," Gear chimed back.

The undergarments landed in a pile that was building up fast- Gear really did need new stuff. The fact that she would be able to buy something to make Axel's hormones go into overdrive (if he even would see the underwear) was just icing on top of the cake.

It was a full hour before they retreated from the store with smiles on their faces. Just as they were leaving, Gear ran (literally) into Alex. The mutant looked at her silently, a small look of '_can we talk- alone?'_ stared at Gear, who nodded. Jan noticed the look and excused herself to go back to the sale at another store.

Gear and Alex took a seat at one of the benches, Gear's bags placed beside her.

"So, what's up, _It Happened Once In A Dream?_"

"Odin, he's so nervous."

"Axel?"

Alex nodded.

"Yeah. He went to see you and now he's confused too. Look, just because he's been avoiding you doesn't mean he doesn't like you. He just...Doesn't know how to handle his feelings. You know...You're the first."

"You mean the first girl he's felt attracted to? Sweet. He didn't send you to tell me all of this, right?"

Alex looked her dead in the eye and raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not. I came here to pick up a few things, and get my mind off of a few others."

Gear nodded in understanding. She knew full well that Alex's and Axel's heads weren't very nice places to be unless you wanted to fall into a deep dark pit of depression. That told Gear that if she came _shopping _to clear her mind, it was probably to clear those thoughts away.

"Also," Alex said with a slight smirk, "Shopping at Whores R Us will not get Axel to like you more. He already likes you, and he can't stop thinking about you. Trust me-I know."

Gear chuckled slightly at the name.

"It's not for him liking me more, it's for me getting payback."

Alex smirked,

"Mind feeling me in on the plan?"

"No offense, but I can't have the plan get leaked to Axel. Jan and Carol only know that I am shopping for him and planning something- but they don't know what. My lips are sealed."

Alex felt a small twinge in her gut,

"This plan involves a certain organ of his, doesn't it? You do know that every bad image he gets of you gets sent to me, right?"

"Oh I know, I figured that's why you might be thankful for the twin thing," Gear winked, "I'm that much of a catch, after all."

_She's teasing me about my bisexuality,_ Alex realized,_ like she's one to talk- she's pansexu__al. _

"That doesn't mean I want those images _from my twin brother,_" Alex said dry.

Gear got up as she shrugged,

"Nevertheless, I have a plan to carry out. And Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not your fault- he'll wake up," Gear swore in a whisper before she dashed off- shopping bags in hand.

* * *

At this point, Axel was getting frustrated. He didn't want to interrupt the girls' day of shopping, so he was left waiting. However, a mere four hours later, he realized that Gear might not return to the helicarrier or the medbay. She was probably at her house- eating or working, doing whatever Gear did at nine o'clock at night. He realized that he might just want to see what she does so late at night- he smirked before he shook that thought out of his head. There was no use to think about what a future date with Gear may be like unless he got the guts to talk to her- something he was working on since his failure the first time.

He headed back up to his room at the hotel- Gear insisted on it and frankly, the twins were too flattered and awed to really deny it. Besides, they felt almost a bit bad that she spent so much on them to get them both their own rooms at the nice, almost fancy hotel. He sulked slightly before he reached his room, but he tensed when he heard some noise from the inside. He threw open the door, ready for a fight, but stopped at what he saw.

The lights were dimmed slightly and Gear was sitting on his bed, her legs crossed. His eyes started low- looking at her normal combat boots before his eyes travels up slowly. He took in her smooth, toned legs, how short the dress was and just how much he could get a glimpse at what was under the dress, the laced sides and just how smooth and sexy it was, the v-neck (more specifically what the v-neck showed), and finally he looked at her devilish, flirty smile that could bring any man to his knees within a moment. Hundreds of naughty images filled his mind- most were just her in her current state while the others were so graphically porno that from her room in the hotel his twin groaned.

"_Slow down with the images Casanova,"_ Alex thought to him, _"Better yet- don't get those images at all. I take it you found Gear. Where is she?"_

He thought about how he found Gear, the image going to his twin.

_"Oh boy, dumbass. I told you to ask her out- looks like she's taking matters into her own hands, torturing you while she's at it."_

_"...Y-Yeah."_

_"...You just stuttered- You really got it bad. I'm going to sleep for once- if anything so I don't have to deal with these images."_

"Hey Winged Prince," Gear greeted, her voice a bit smoother than usual as she stood up slowly.

She strolled over to him, a swing in her hips that finally made him have to cross his legs. She put a finger under his chin and he gulped as she smirked,

"Try to ignore me now,_ Currently Tapping That."_

"I t-thought I was _Wanna Tap That,_" Axel said, cursing silently about his stuttering.

"Hmmm, that's under debate," Gear winked, "Now, at this point we have a few options."

"Which are?"

"Well, you can take me on a date- you did kiss me after all."

"O-Or," Axel gulped, almost dreading the second option.

"Or we can make_ Currently Tapping That _your official nickname," Gear purred into his ear.

Axel was putty in her hands. With that in mind, she parted away from him- her plan completed as she had managed to make Axel loose his composure and practically melt away.

"That second option was a joke, Winged Prince. Now get properly dressed- we're hitting the town."

* * *

Alex sighed as more dirty images flooded her head, planning on getting Gear back later. Without a word or so much as a grunt she jumped up and flopped down on her bed, turning off her human camouflage in the process.

"Way more comfortable than the couch back home," she muttered to herself as she turned to her stomach, thrusting her wings outward.

"Maybe I'll actually have a full night's sleep for once," she said as she closed her eyes and drifted into darkness.

_Ringleader's mouth curled into a twisted, wicked smile that screamed pure evil. It was her first day in 42, the super villain prison. The twins were standing outside her cell, their shoulders squared._

_"It's inevitable," she said, "You'll become just as you were trained to be, and when you finally realize that and turn to my side, you'll feel freedom like nothing before."_

_"No. We came here to tell you the exact opposite," Axel said, the power in his words surprising even him._

_"We're not your puppets," Alex said, "Not anymore. We plan on using our skills and abilities to help, and protect those who can't help themselves."_

_"And why would you want to do something so childish, reckless, and stupid? Protecting the ones who hate you has no value."_

_"Because none of those kids deserved to die, you heartless bitch," Alex said, her hatred and spite coming into her voice._

_"They had to go. They blinded you amd made you week. Although I would have gone without you losing an arm. It's just another weakness that makes you even less powerful."_

_"Luckily we still hate you, and all of that shit you put us through will drive us to never become like you," Axel said. "Because you're a monster."_

_"Have you looked in a mirror?"_

_"Dumbass," Alex said with a roll of her eyes, "We meant on the inside. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some saving to do."_

_As they were walking away Ringleader banged her fists on the glass, and the sound reverberated loudly throughout the prison._

_"It's gonna happen eventually! You can't stop it, it's who you are! There's no avoiding that little voice in your head saying kill them."_

_They didn't look back as she kept ranting about that. They just kept there eyes forward and tried not to think about it to much as she kept hitting the impenetrable glass, over and over._

Alex's eyes snapped open and they greedily took in her surroundings. She was still in the hotel room, except now she was on the floor instead of the bed, and instead of Ringleader's fists against glass, it was just her cell phone. She quickly dug it out of her pocket and answered it.

"What?"

_"Is everything okay?" _Steve asked, _"You sound mad."_

"I'm fine. Just sleeping. What's up?"

_"He woke up."_

Alex didn't realize she could be out of the door quicker than Hulk when Tony said he's buying the pizza.

* * *

"When did he wake up?" She asked as she landed on the porch where Steve was waiting.

"Just a few minutes before I called."

"Did you check his vitals and give him the medicine?"

At his blank stare she sighed and rushed passed him. Right before entering she took a deep sigh to clear her thoughts and stepped inside.

Danny turned towards the door as Alex walked kn and tried to sit up. He stopped for two reasons. One being the extreme pain in his chest, and the second being the look Alex gave him, so he laid back down.

"How do you feel? Can you hear me?"

Danny nodded.

"Yeah, I can hear you. Why?"

"When doing dissections on any living being it's very possible to ruin the hearing and speech permanently. Now take this," she said, handing him a hand full of pills and a cup of water.

"What are they for?"

"Most of them are pain pills. I know it must hurt like hell so using different types at very low dosages will help numb most of it. And a TUMS in case you feel the need to vomit like I did."

"Uh...Thanks..."

Alex watched as he downed all of the pills with a few gulps of water. Her eyes narrowed in concern at his stiff and painful movements. She sighed and sat at the foot of his bed, running a hand through her hair.

"You look tired," Danny said. She nodded and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I am. Although I did get about..." she stopped to look at the clock on her metal arm that Gear made, "Three-ish hours."

"An hour long? I mean, I know you don't really like sleeping all that much but still."

Alex looked at him for about a minute before answering.

"About a...Week and a half I think. I would have probably gone longer if it wasn't for Axel and that pervy head of his. You should have seen what Gear put on to get him back."

"That definitely sounds like Gear."

"Yup."

"So...What's happened to the GiW?"

"Fury is working on legally taking them down. Shouldn't be long though considering they were video taping all of the shit they did to you and put it in unlocked files on their website. Gear wasn't kidding when they said they were idiots. Except the only thing worse than an idiot-other than a super villain-is a homicidal idiot bent on doing twisted things to innocent people."

Danny nodded in agreement and smirked, looking at Alex with a slight smile. She gave him a slightly confused look before asking why he was looking at her like that.

"Nothing...It's just..."

"Something obviously."

"Once people know I'm a halfa they don't really consider me a person anymore."

"Those people are shallow and don't know a good hearted person when they see one."

"Do you know other heroes that get hate all the time other than you and Axel?"

Alex scoffed.

"Trust me, we might save a bunch of lives but we're no where near good hearted. Not like you anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"You're so...Innocent. You might have seen a lot but not as much as us. Trust me, you probably never will see as much as us. Be thankful for that."

"Would you like to elaborate on that?"

"Maybe one day, but you need to rest and I need to call Gear because it's to long of a list to even scratch the tip of the iceberg."

Without saying anything else she stood up and left, leaving Danny to his thoughts as he turned to his side and slept.

* * *

Axel shot up out of bed, breathing heavily with a thin layer of sweat covering his skin. He took a deep breath,_ what a crazy dream..._

_"I could hear your moaning and groaning from my hotel room," _ Alex thought to him, _"It wasn't a dream, dumbass!"_

Axel gulped and looked over to were a naked Gear was sleeping soundly beside him under the covers. He gulped again and lifted up the covers a bit as he looked down- he was bare as well. Then his memories came back. They did go on a date and discuss everything they needed to- he confessed that it was stupid of him to try to ignore her and she agreed. They went to the movies. They agreed to be girlfriend and boyfriend- Gear even comforted him, saying that he wasn't just a fling and that she cared (the fact that she was there when he woke up was proof it wasn't a fling). They went around town and eventually ended back at the hotel where things got a bit more than _heated._ He blushed heavily.

_"I swear if I see any more images, I'll scream,"_ Alex thought back annoyed, _"Gear will pay for this."_

Axel didn't pay attention to his sister's complaining as he admired Gear. She was laying on her stomach, putting her hands under her pillow. She was sleeping soundly and peacefully. He didn't want to wake her.

_"Too bad. Danny woke up too so I suggest you two get there and fast. He might already be asleep."_

Axel thanked his sister before he turned to Gear. Taking a risk, he placed a few kisses on her neck and back, which made her smile in her sleep before her eyes fluttered open.

"You know, I'm not a morning person but that is a heck of a way of waking someone up, hotshot," Gear smirked.

She slowly got up, popping her back as she stretched. Axel watched, almost hypnotized by the shape of her bare body with no blankets to cover it- even if he had just seen it a few hours prior. Gear winked,

"I'm sure you didn't wake me up for a round two so what's up?"

"Danny's awake."

Gear's carefree demeanor diminished. She would have rushed out the door if Axel didn't call out to her, reminding her about clothes- she might not have cared to suddenly be a nudist, but he did. She was his (And his first as well) and he didn't want anyone else to see her naked.

"Let's get going," Gear said seriously.

When they arrived at the medbay, the others were outside the door- conversing. Alex was no where to be seen. Gear, wearing Axel's pants and shirt since she couldn't find her clothes (they, along with her bra and underwear seemed to have disappeared or were found in shreds), strode up to them confidently. Steve choked on air at her attire as Tony laughed. Axel shifted under Tony's wink.

"Well, I guess someone has finally been updated to _Currently Tapping That,_" Tony commented, "Way to go- didn't think you had it in you."

"He didn't," Gear said dryly, "I made the moves and most of the directing."

"Directing," Steve muttered confused before his eyes widened in realization, "OH!"

His face turned red as Gear clicked her tongue with a wink.

"Aren't you both a bit too young to do anything like that," Steve finally said, regaining his composure.

"Tsk, Cap I've known my way around males, females, and things in between, for a while now," Gear commented, "If anything, Axel is the one too young, but hey- he learned pretty fast."

She winked at her boyfriend, who turned pink. Oblivious to how uncomfortable she was making Steve (though she might have been ignoring it), she walked into the room where Danny was, Axel quickly following her (eager to get away from the glares of the female superheroes who didn't want him to hurt Gear).

"Danny dude," Gear said loudly and cheerfully, "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"

Danny groggily lifted his head as his eyes opened slowly,

"Gear?"

"Who else," Gear said with a smirk. She sat down beside Danny's bed and took his hand in hers.

Her attitude changed yet again as she looked Danny in the eyes.

"Danny, you sure you're okay? You gave me- _us_- quite the scare..."

"I'm fine, Gear, really," Danny insisted as he winced.

"Don't believe it. I'll tell them to up the dosage on the pain killers- your body burns through them too fast."

Gear got her thinking face on- a face that Axel found a bit cute- as she continued on and on about things that the nurses and doctors should do, ranging from changing the dosage of medicines to fluffing his pillows more properly. Danny raised his hands,

"Gear, really, I'm fine- really."

"No you aren't," Gear snapped before she realized what she did. She cursed to herself though both Danny and Axel heard it. She ran a hand through her hair. "Danny, you don't understand- I thought I lost you. I don't do the whole mushy shit- you know that, but damn it!"

She wiped away a few tears,

"Jazz was my best friend- your sister was so much mature than me, you know?"

She got a far-away look in her eyes as she continued to grip Danny's hands. He listened to her, knowing that Gear didn't open up that often.

"She evened me out," Gear explained, "Leaving Amity for New York was one of the hardest things for me to do. But it was going to work out. I didn't tell you- or anyone- but I wasn't here just on business as Quam Tu. I was here to check out the colleges. Jazz and I were going to go to college together- I knew I wouldn't learn anything there since I know everything already, but I was going to do it for her.

Losing her was hard as hell, Danny dude. She... She was my best friend- my sister practically. But I got over it, eventually, and the twins helped a lot- they became my new best friends and they evened me out just like she did. The thing is, I promised her that I would always protect you since you were like my little brother. So when I realized that you might be dead, I thought I failed her- more than that because... Every time I look at you, I see her. I see Jazz sitting there in a hospital gown, dying... I couldn't lose you- it'd be like losing her all over again... Shittles, I'm emotional today- I must be tired."

Axel watched the exchange- a bit envious that Gear wasn't opening up to him. Danny just hugged Gear,

"I understand, Gear. I really do..."

The two parted with smiles as Axel came over, giving Danny a nod. Axel stood behind Gear with a hand on her shoulder. Danny scratched at his head,

"Just one last question- why is Gear in your clothes, Axel?"


End file.
